


Heroes Against The Odds

by TobiasHawk1



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: F/F, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2020-01-16 05:35:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 52,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18514960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TobiasHawk1/pseuds/TobiasHawk1
Summary: Gwendolyn Poole and Andrea Benton work together to unravel the tropes stacked against them and become full fledged heroes in their own right. And maybe even friends.





	1. Chapter 1

Andrea Benton was just starting to enjoy laying low and staying out of trouble. It’d been months since she and a few friends had fought Lee Price and subdued the Maniac. Coach Thompson had gone off to do whatever Agent Anti-Venom does, taking all the crazy superhero stuff with him back to Manhattan. She’d promised that she’d keep the use of her Hell-Mark to a minimum until he got back with a cure for it, but Philadelphia wasn’t NYC. It was quiet, and there was hardly any need for a Hellmarked superhero to round up the petty criminals of the city. Instead she’d re-enrolled in high school- just barely managing to graduate on time, and had even been going to anger management classes once a week to help control the harsher effects of her Hell-Mark. With Lord Ogre dead and Jack O’Lantern secure on the Raft, she could finally  _ relax. _ The thought had occurred to her before, but she’d never voiced it aloud, wary that some cosmic karma might come and ruin it for her.

“Man… it feels really good catching some fresh air.” She took a long swig of her cherry soda, casually strolling towards her house. Her first college classes started soon and she wanted to enjoy the last few days of freedom she had left. Turning her face towards the sun she breathed a sigh of relief, smelling the sweet air and… the faint smell of smoke. A barbecue maybe? Narrowing her eyes, she could see something pink and white hurtling towards her.

“What the hell-”

“Look out!”

Andi hopped out of the way as the person landed in a large pile of garbage bags. The fall should’ve killed any normal human, but the girl cartwheeled out without so much as a limp. Her costume was white and pink and didn’t have much in the way of leg protection. A white, ghostlike mask covered most of her face, with pink lenses that changed shape like Spider-Man’s. Andi had never seen this person before, and the katanas and guns she carried made her suspect that she didn’t have any powers at all.

“Alright, round two match-stick!” The hero reloaded her guns and kept her eyes trained on the rooftops, searching for something or someone. Andi took a step towards her, finally tearing her attention away from the search for her attacker.

“Oh, you’re still here? You should, uh, probably run away, you know? There’s about to be a firefight. Heavy on the fire.” She laughed at her own joke for a second before her attention went back to the rooftops.

“Yo, ghost chick. You still want some of this?” A blond guy in a yellow and red costume had appeared on the rooftop across the street, clearly ready for a fight. Tubes extended from gauntlets down his arms to a backpack- the tube on his right arm had been cut and was leaking fluid, damaged earlier in the fight.

“That’s the grossest thing you’ve said all issue, Pyro.” The girl kept her gun trained on him, finger on the trigger.

“Then let’s make this quick- I got shit to do.” The man aimed his left hand at her, flame pouring out of his gauntlet towards the girl. She ran, firing her gun at him but the flames burned hot and melted the bullets before they got near him.

“Hold still, skank,” he screamed, chasing her down as he lit the street aflame.

“Get out of here,” the hero screamed at Andi, pushing on her as she tried to lead her away from the encroaching flames. The fire swirled and raced towards them, spreading faster than any natural fire could hope across asphalt and concrete.

Andi had seen enough.

She closed her eyes and dug in her heels, slipping out of the hero’s grasp as her momentum carried her a safe distance away.

“NO!” The girl reached out to her, white gloves singeing as the flames engulfed Andi.

“What kind of hero can’t save  _ one _ civilian? Haha, oh man, you should see the look on your mask right now!” Pyro laughed harshly, jumping down off the roof and leveling his hand towards the hero.

The fire dissipated as Andi opened her eyes, her Hell-Mark burning on her chest and eyes glowing blood red.

“Hey, asshole. Were you trying to kill me? Because I didn’t even break a sweat.” Andi took a deep breath and exhaled, Hellfire pouring from her lips towards the villain.

“Fire?!  _ Haha _ , you dumb broad, fire ain’t no friend of yours!” Pyro concentrated for a moment before jumping out of the way. Confusion written across his face that even his mask couldn’t hide.   
“Not just any old fire.  _ Hellfire!” _ Andi took another deep breath and exhaled again, fire racing towards him. This time he answered with his own wall of flames. It pushed back against hers, completely at his will, unlike her own that burned as free as it was intense. Andi was running out of breath, and Pyro’s torrent of flames quickly began to overwhelm her own. She was out of practice, with a power that had never truly been her own to begin with.

“You sweating yet!” Pyro laughed, his flames taking the shape of a large shark, pushing through her Hellfire as easily as if it were swimming against a current.

“Gotcha.” The hero fired three shots. The first missed by an inch, but the second buried itself into Pyro’s gauntlet. The third severed the tube leading from his backpack, cutting off his fuel supply.

“You bitch,” he hissed. With no fuel to sustain it, the giant shark was quickly overcome by Andi’s Hellfire and fizzled out. She couldn’t help but smile.

“Can’t keep it up? Out of stamina already? Pathetic.” Her words were cruel, the Hell-Mark on her chest influencing her just as much as she influenced it.

“Hilarious. Wait till I get out of lockup, you two are first on my-” With a quick tap with the handle of her sword, the hero hit Pyro in the temple and knocked him unconscious.

“That was  _ awesome! _ I didn’t think I’d see any superheroes here in Philadelphia. I would’ve called ahead for help if I knew.” The girl was excited- way more excited than someone who’d almost been burned alive ought to be. Andi took a deep, calming breath. No Hellfire this time, just peace. Her Hell-Mark faded away, her eyes changing back to her favorite shade of purple she’d selected for her contact lenses.

“ _ You’re _ a superhero?” She instantly regretted the question as soon as she’d asked it, the harshness in her tone not entirely her fault.

_ “Probably should’ve waited until the Hell-Mark had completely faded,”  _ she thought to herself.

“Yeah! I was even an Avenger for a little bit! West Coast Avenger,  _ but still! _ I’m Gwenpool by the way,” she replied, not at all put off by Andi’s tone. She extended her hand, smiling wide as she waited for Andi to take it.

“I’m… Andi. No hero name.” She shook Gwen’s hand softly, just for a second.

“Oh! I  _ knew _ I recognized you! You’re Mania!” Gwen went from excited to feverish, shaking Andi’s hand as if it were the only thing in the world to do.

“Not… not anymore. I’m just Andi now. And… how did you-”

“Oh, I know everything. That’s kinda my thing. Spider-Man does whatever a spider can, Captain America’s fists are Nazi magnets… I know about everything and everyone.” That was the cover story she’d made for herself. Time and again she’d come to learn that most people didn’t take her true origin story too well. This was a good middle ground.

“Uh… sure. Sure, why not.” Andi didn’t believe that for a second, but she really didn’t want to push this any further.

“Well, thanks for the help! Catching Pyro actually ended my story arc. I hope that doesn’t mean I’m getting cancelled again,” she groaned in exasperation as she tended to her captive. Rolling him onto his side, she pulled off his gauntlets and removed the backpack, emptying its contents into the sewer drain to make sure he wouldn’t be able to light any more fires. She opened up a pouch in her belt, taking out her phone to make a quick call.

“Hey, Hawkeye! Can you send someone to come pick this guy up for me? Yeah, I caught Pyro! Get this, he was in Philadelphia the whole time. Oh, you’re with America? Perfect, I’ll send you the address and- wait, where are you going!” Gwen quickly hung up her phone and jogged to catch up with Andi, who’d already made it halfway down the block.

“Um, home?” She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t interested in helping to round up more bad guys, but this hero was  _ weird _ and she’d been enjoying her regular life. As good as it felt using the Hell-Mark, she knew she shouldn’t.

“Oh! Well, it was fun working with you. You’re a pretty cool hero, you know. If you’re not Mania anymore, you should probably think about a new name? Hellfire’s already trademarked but I’m sure you’ll think of something. Thanks again.” She waved and jogged back towards Pyro.

“... some of these heroes are getting weirder and weirder.”


	2. Chapter 2

Gwen sighed, really considering dropping out before her first class even begun.

“I could probably just ask Cecil to hack into ESU and give me whatever degree I want… ugh but then I’ll be missing out on all the fun tropes that come from being a student and a hero. Come on Gwen, we got this.” Gwen took one last look back at the street before heading on to the campus grounds. Keystone State University was a lot more scenic than Empire State University, and a lot older. The buildings were made of weathered brick and looked closer to a museum than a school.

“Maybe I’ll find a sect of evil vampires here? I’d have to call Blade again. Or maybe the whole school is a front for HYDRA recruitment? I could probably handle that myself, HYDRA guys are pretty dumb if it isn’t a Captain America comic.” She whistled the Spectacular Spider-Man opening theme as she searched for her classroom, positive that she wouldn’t have to pass more than a few panels before finding her destination regardless of the time. Only five minutes late, she opened the door to classroom 301 and was surprised to see a familiar face.

“Ah, you must be Miss Poole? Take a syllabus and find a seat next to Miss… Bretton?”

“Benton, sir.” Andi narrowed her eyes at Gwen, trying to figure the odds that this girl was the same person she’d met during her fight a few days ago. She’d never got to see the face under her mask, but the long, pale legs and bouncy gait seemed way too familiar. Gwen waved at her excitedly and that was all the confirmation she’d needed.

“Of course, of course, my apologies. I hope to have you guys all memorized by the end of the week. Now, as I was saying-” The professor went into a speech about preparedness and searching for help when needed. Andi wanted to pay attention, but she could tell concentrating at all would be a chore around the bubbly energy her new classmate produced.

“Hey! Remember me?” Gwen whispered softly, not even bothering to so much as look at her syllabus.

“Gwenpool. Is there a reason you’re in my lit class?” Andi wasn’t exactly thrilled about having a superhero in her class. Superheroes normally brought super  _ problems  _ along with them.

“I go here now! I have a dorm and everything. But I didn’t expect to see you here, too. Unless… is this a crossover?” She looked around excitedly, hoping to find  _ something. _

“You have a dorm here? Lemme guess. Room-”

“Room 704!” 

Andi held her face in her hands. This year wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d initially thought it would be.

“This  _ is _ a crossover! Hi roomie!” Gwen playfully blew a kiss at her new friend, who was desperately trying to learn to teleport. Andi did her best to pay attention during class, but Gwen was  _ distracting. _ She was so colorful and animated, it must’ve looked hilarious to anyone else. The goth girl with piercings dressed in all black desperately trying to focus on her work sitting next to the colorful, hyperactive girl who could hardly afford to pay attention.

With class dismissed, Andi was the first to leave. She did her best to forget what would be waiting for her when she returned to her dorm until the end of her classes. She’d already met their other roommate, a sporty Japanese girl named Himawari Tokage. Or Tokage Himawari? She still wasn’t sure about the cultural differences there. But as she finished her last class she rushed to their dorm, hoping to get there and speak to her before Gwen could. It was clear that the hero wasn’t too big on the whole  _ secret identity  _ thing considering she’d named her superhero persona after herself, and the last thing she wanted was for her to get dragged into whatever drama Gwen would bring with her. She power walked through the dorm hall and quickly unlocked her room door. Her heart sank instantly.

“Hey, Andi.” Himawari looked up from her homework and nodded at her before turning her attention back towards Gwen and her homework.

“Hi Andi! Look, we have another roommate! This is gonna be great, I-”

“Gwen. Can I speak with you.  _ Privately. _ ” Andi held the door open, wanting to put some distance between the two girls.

“Someone’s in trouble,” Himawari chuckled, looking back to her notebook as Gwen sprung to her feet and followed Andi out of the room.

“What’s wrong, partner?” Gwen never stopped moving, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she spoke.

“What did you tell her,” Andi hissed under her breath.

“Well we were talking about life in New York City for a bit and then she started working on her homework so I-”

“You know what I’m talking about.” She could feel the Hell-Mark trying to burn itself onto her skin again, and quickly let Gwen go, having grabbed her by the front of her shirt in her moment of rage.

“S-sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m not scared of a little soul corruption. Happens all the time. Anyway, no, I haven’t told her about your demonic possession. I don’t know anything about that girl so she’s probably just an extra, anyway.” Gwen shrugged nonchalantly, not even missing a beat after Andi’s manhandling.

“I thought you know everything about everyone,” Andi asked accusingly, arms crossed over her chest.

“Everyone important. Like superheroes and people they’re related to. Not random extras,” Gwen explained, as if this should’ve been obvious. Andi rolled her eyes, still not believing her.

“Anyway, I promise I won’t tell anyone about you being next in line to rule hell. And I’ll try to keep a low profile about being a superhero, too.” Gwen put a hand over her heart as she spoke, the highest form of promise she could make. It would’ve been endearing to Andi if she wasn’t so skeptical of her.

“And how are you gonna make sure no one finds out about you when you’re Gwen Poole and your hero name is  _ Gwenpool? _ ” She still couldn’t believe anyone would do something so obvious.

“Nobody knew Dr. Stephen Strange was Doctor Strange for a  _ really  _ long time. I think I’ll be alright,” Gwen laughed to herself before leaning back against the door to their dorm.

“Just as a head’s up, though. We’re definitely going to get into some hijinks together. So you should think about a mask. Or a costume altogether.” Gwen suspected that it’d be less than a day before the next plot arc would show itself. Marvel writers hardly ever did slice of life series, and considering she was paired with another active hero, there was no way this  _ wasn’t _ the first issue of a new experimental run between the two.

“No way. I’m just here for classes, Gwen. I promised someone important to me no more superheroing.” Andi remembered her promise to her coach, how she told him she’d keep the use of her Hell-Mark to a minimum. She didn’t hate the idea of just being a civilian again, especially after all the blood she’d seen while the demon had been in charge.

“Flash Thompson? Yeah, he’s probably not going to mind you doing superhero stuff  _ at all. _ Especially considering what he’s been up to recently. Also if you’ve got his number tell him Agent Anti-Venom is a dumb name.” Gwen tucked some of her pink-and-blonde hair behind her ear, pouting slightly as she remembered how the man had lost his symbiote.

_ “Flash and Venom were cute together,” _ she remembered, pining of the end of such a fun partnership. Andi finally allowed herself to laugh. Maybe- just  _ maybe- _ Gwen wouldn’t be too bad after all. The door creaked open and Gwen fell backwards into their dorm, her head landing an inch from Himawari’s toes.

“Oh. Didn’t mean to interrupt. Wanted to know if you guys wanted to get some food. I’m starving.” She extended a hand to try to help Gwen off the floor, but the energetic girl lithely kipped up on her own and dusted herself off.

“Sure. I could grab a bite. Come on, Gwen.”


	3. Chapter 3

Gwenpool had been on the lookout for her next plot arc for the better part of a week before she caught a lead for…  _ something. _ KSU was centuries old and had dozens of boarded up and hidden passageways, so she wasn’t surprised to find an old library filled with hundreds of books written in dozens of languages she didn’t understand. What she  _ was _ surprised to find was about fifty professors- a few from her own classes as well as others she didn’t recognize- all huddled around a group of about ten students, mostly naked, bound and gagged with rags as they whimpered on the floor in a pile. Hidden in an old, dusty vent she quietly watched the group set up their weird cult meeting.

“Small group this month,” her computer science professor hissed, pulling back the hood of her robe.

“It’s still early in the semester. The more students start underperforming, the more we’ll be able to snack on,” a teacher she didn’t recognize explained, baring his fangs as he waited for whatever cue they were waiting for to start eating.

“Vampires,” she whispered, her face pressed against the grating of the vent as she watched the proceedings. The urge to jump in and stop them was strong, but she’d faced vampires before- she’d need backup if she wanted to get out of this alive.

“Let’s welcome our recent additions. Mr. Winchester and Miss Redfield. How are you two enjoying your transformations?” Gwen narrowed her eyes, pretty sure that that was the dean introducing the two students.

“It’s been great,” Redfield laughed, eyeing the pile of bodies at her feet.

“I’m s-so hungry. I gotta eat. Please.” Winchester was tall but hunched over, holding his stomach as he practically slobbered over himself.

“Of course, of course. Hail HYDA,” the dean shouted, arm up in a Roman salute.

“Hail HYDRA,” the group shouted in unison, and descended upon their screaming, writhing blood meal.

“ _ Nazi _ vampires,” Gwen whispered. She’d seen enough, and silently crawled through the vent shaft into the main body of the building, quickly making her way back to her dorm.

* * *

 

“I knew you weren’t gonna believe me, that’s why I brought proof!” Gwen quickly scrolled through her phone and showed Andi a picture of clothes that seemed to be standing up on their own. At first glance, it looked like a bad photoshop.

“That’s the guidance counselor! But look, he didn’t show up on camera because-”

“Because he’s a vampire.” Andi rolled her eyes, seriously considering getting a room reassignment. Alien symbiotes and demons were one thing, but  _ vampires? _ She wasn’t a child, and that wasn’t something she was about ready to believe in.

“Exactly!” Gwen looked around the cafeteria to make sure no one was looking at them after her outburst and quickly stuffed her face with another bite of her fish taco.

“I’ve been scoping them out for three weeks. They take students that’re underperforming- students that would’ve dropped out anyway, and then they file the paperwork like they  _ did _ drop out. But they  _ didn’t _ they were  _ eaten _ instead! Every semester they take one of the highest performing students and a member of Greek life that’s already super into the HYDRA thing and they turn them. They’re gonna meet up for another meal tomorrow night. I had a friend look through the records of all drop-outs from KSU and cross reference them with missing persons’ reports with the same names. A dozen people are gonna die tomorrow if we don’t stop them.” Gwen was proud of herself for getting so much information. She was really starting to think like a superhero!

“If they’re vampires then why can they walk around during the daytime?” Andi crossed her arms over her chest. She hadn’t even touched her cheeseburger as she listened to Gwen’s story. There was just something about the idea of cannibalism that made her lose her appetite.

“They’re working with HYDRA. They created some kind of lotion that blocks out the sun’s UVB rays and lets them walk around during the day in exchange for a fresh supply of young supporters to the HYDRA cause. Haven’t you noticed that almost every professor that has classes during the day has a bottle on them?” Gwen had put in a  _ lot _ of time to get the story perfect. She didn’t want to be missing a single detail when she told Andi, which was part of the reason she’d been forced to wait so long.

“That’s for the promotion the school is doing with that skincare brand-”

“That’s the cover, Andi! They dump the bottles and fill them with their lotion. Remember when I asked our literature professor for some of his? I took it over to the science lab. I have all the test results right here,” she dug through her shark backpack and procured a stack of papers covered in graphs and charts. Andi didn’t even bother to look through any of it. Gwen might be easily excitable, but she wasn’t stupid.

“Okay. Say I believe you. Why are you even telling me all of this? What do you want  _ me  _ to do about it.” She wasn’t at all versed in hunting vampires. Calling in someone who  _ was  _ seemed like the smarter option here.

“We’re superheroes. We  _ have _ to stop this. Come on, I _ know _ you’ve been itching for something like this. I’ve seen you in the gym, you’ve been training.” Gwen smirked, knowing she’d backed her roommate into a corner.

“You are frustratingly persistent,” Andi sighed, leaning back in her seat.

“I know, it’s part of my charm. Now, look, I’ve got a plan.”

* * *

 

Andi had been stuffed in the cramped vent for almost two hours now and was quickly growing impatient.

“I can’t believe I let her trick me into this, ugh! Wait until I get my hands on her,” she grumbled, considering the myriad of ways she could get back at her roommate. She’d just begun crawling back out through the vent when she heard the door to the library open, a group of professors dragging dazed students along with them.

“Gwen!” Her roommate was clad in only her underwear, senselessly being led to sit in the pile of bodies at the center of the room.

“This one is pretty fit. Good catch,” their literature professor nodded smugly at the compliment, ruffling Gwen’s hair.

“Not all too bright, I’m afraid. Scored a zero on a multiple choice exam.” He laughed softly, shaking his head. They waited until Redfield and Winchester finished tying the group to one another before beginning their meeting. Snapped out of their trances, all of the students on the floor began to scream and writhe, desperately trying to escape. Gwen looked to the vent, unable to see Andi through the grating, but seriously hoping her partner hadn’t abandoned her.

Andi had seen enough. Pressing her boots against the grated panel, she pushed as hard as she could, tearing it out of the wall. The group of surprised vampires turned and hissed at the intruder.

“Eliminate the hero  _ now _ ,” the dean hissed, pointing a finger at her as the professors rushed towards her.

“Fucking  _ vampires _ ,” Andi sighed, taking a deep breath as the Hell-Mark burned itself onto her chest. Hellfire raced towards the group of students and encircled them, cutting them off from their would-be predators. The protection would only last for as long as she was alive, but she wasn’t planning on dying tonight.

Gwen apparently had ties to a costume maker in NYC who’d rushed to custom make a suit for Andi as a favor. They’d decided on a dark purple bodysuit complete with a mask that covered her whole face, finished with white eye lenses that uncannily resembled those of her symbiote’s. She’d finished the design with a black and gold leather jacket, kneepads and her favorite pair of combat boots. Still no name yet, but they’d save that for later. Gwen had also decided on some protective measures to help against the vampires. Andi was used to wearing crosses-  _ upside-down still counted _ \- but she couldn’t wait to get rid of the necklace of garlic cloves and wolfsbane from around her neck. She wasn’t sure what the silver jewelry would do, and she felt kind of vulnerable knowing that she wouldn’t be able to dip anything she touched in holy water thanks to her Hell-Mark, but she was certain she’d be able to hold her own all the same.

She sent a wave of Hellfire at the two closest vampires, pushing them away from her before tossing Gwen’s shark backpack into the ring of fire that protected the students. She couldn’t spare a second to think about how Gwen could possibly escape her bindings, get dressed and grab her weapons as she flipped over a vampire that’d charged her, sending it slamming into the brick wall behind her while she shot another spout of Hellfire at the dean.

Andi never could’ve prepared herself for how  _ fast _ vampires could be for a bunch of undead guys. They weaved and dodged around her Hellfire, encircling her as they fought to take her down. Unholy claws tore at her jacket, fangs sinking into the leather and she snarled, summoning flames that quickly engulfed her psychology professor. 

There’d been nearly fifty vampires when she’d started, and while she’d counted that she’d put down at least eight of them, she was quickly tiring. A hard punch to the gut made her stumble and the football coach roughly slammed her against the cracking brick wall. Andi struggled against his grip, but for all the strength the Hell-Mark granted her, it was no match for that of a vampire. The coach laughed cruelly moving to take a bite of her neck.

“Yo, mosquito breath! Suck on this!” A hole appeared in the coach’s head, stopping him in his tracks and he crumbled to the floor. Gwenpool walked through the fire, katana in one hand, smoking pistol in the other.

_ “Mosquito breath,” _ Andi repeated confusedly, immolating three vampires that’d turned their backs to her with one breath.

“You make it  _ really _ hard to be thankful for backup, you know that?”

* * *

 

“We’d like to thank you personally, for the admirable bravery you two have displayed engaging HYDRA like this.” Captain America shook Gwen’s hand, then Andi’s, his huge palms practically swallowing the girls’ whole.

“N- no problem, C-Captain America, sir.” Andi was doing her absolute  _ best _ to keep calm, but it’s not every day one got to meet Captain America.

“You two did a damn number on these vamps. You sure you guys haven’t done this before?” Blade had also been called in to make sure that the vampires wouldn’t be able to come back.

“First time vampire hunters, I promise,” Gwenpool answered, somehow less excited about this than Andi was.

“You two make sure to be careful next time you do something like this again. HYDRA are no pushovers and I’ve tussled with my fair share of vampires before. If you ladies ever need help for something like this, don’t hesitate to ask.” Just being in the same room as Captain America made Andi want to be  _ better. _ His optimism and spirit were infectious. It was like standing next to the sun.

“We’re definitely missing a couple of those vampires though. You said there were two students?” Blade had a one-track mind; killing vampires was everything to him and he needed to make sure another sect of them wouldn’t rise up in Philadelphia.

“Yeah, Winchester and Redfield? I never got their first names. I think they got away during the fight,” Gwenpool explained.

“They could be anywhere now thanks to this new sunblock.” Blade snarled, crushing the empty bottle in his hands.

“Sunblock? Why didn’t I think of calling it that,” Gwenpool wondered aloud.

“I’m sure you’ll find them soon enough. And you have fellow vampire hunters here if they ever return,” Captain America nodded towards the two girls before shaking their hands once again and finally taking his leave. Blade had already disappeared without either of them noticing- vampire hunting never stopped for long.

“That was Captain America,” Andi hissed, tightly grabbing Gwen’s forearm.

“Yeah, it was,” she answered confusedly.

“I just shook Captain America’s hand!  _ Captain America shook  _ my  _ hand!” _

“Yeah, he did. Andi, are you gonna be okay,” she asked cautiously. She’d never seen Andi so… energetic.

“In a week, maybe. I should’ve asked for an autograph. Coach is gonna be so jealous.”


	4. Chapter 4

Things had been surprisingly quiet since the vampire debacle. New professors had been called from around the country to fill in the vacancies the old professors had left behind and classes resumed as usual, sans the murderous consequences for failure of course.

“I don’t know, aren’t you supposed to be the one in the hero business? What do you think we should be doing?” Her stereo was blasting her favorite heavy metal band as she checked over her answers. Their door slammed open, Himawari grinning a wide, mischievous smile as she walked in.

“You’re up to something,” Andi arched an eyebrow at her friend. Himawari was usually pretty quiet and reserved- Andi had even noticed her quietly whispering to herself at times.  _ Gwen _ was normally the one slamming doors. Their roommate tossed a few snacks at them all, still grinning from ear to ear.

“We’re going shopping. My treat.” Himawari slammed the door shut and ripped off her clothes before turning to her closet to change.

“Your treat? What are you, Tony Stark,” Andi asked sarcastically, ears perked up as she considered the offer.

“I just, uh… cashed my paycheck? And I’ve got a lot of money to blow. Plus we hardly ever get to hang out.” She stumbled over her explanation for a moment before recovering. Andi was immediately suspicious, but Himawari wasn’t someone that usually got up to trouble. However her roommate had come into the money, she doubted it was illegally.

“Uh, sure. We could definitely hang out, but-”

“Hey, Andrea. I’ve been trying to send you a meme for like, ten minutes now. Can you please respond?” Andi cocked an eyebrow at Gwen. She  _ hated _ being called ‘Andrea.’ She checked her phone and sure enough, three texts from gun-emoji Gwen katana-emoji were in her messages.

<I don’t trust her>

<You always say that. What’s your problem with her?> Andi responded confusedly. Gwen had been subtly avoiding their roommate for a couple of weeks- refusing to study or eat dinner together- and it was starting to become pretty apparent. 

“Let me just tell my partner I’ll be out tonight,” Andi explained to Himawari, doing her best to try to cover their underhanded conversation.

<There’s two heroes in this dorm. That didn’t happen by coincidence. There’s no way Himawari is a coincidence either. She could be a villain. Or a new hero constructed just for this crossover that we end up getting into a huge fight with after she finds out our secret identities. Or she’ll end up being our helpful friend with no powers that keeps us together but ends up getting hurt to get back at us. Either way, I don’t trust her.> Andi reread the text about a half dozen times, thinking up a new question each pass. Gwen spoke as if everything in life was just some cliche trope to be exploited, and it was becoming more and more unsettling the closer she got to the girl.

“Look, if you two aren’t comfortable with me buying stuff for you, you can at least help me pick out some clothes. I dunno if you’ve noticed but most of my closet is sportswear. I’d love some tips from two of the most stylish girls on campus.” She looked from one woman to the other, hoping that at least one of her roommates didn’t totally hate her.

“Get up, Gwen. We’re going.” Andi wasn’t normally one to jump at the thought of shopping, but there was no way she could turn her friend down regardless of Gwen’s conspiracy theories.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re not the only one with a soft spot,” Gwen sighed, slipping out of her bunk and grabbing the first articles of clothing from her closet. Andi watched for a moment, arching an eyebrow at how well the outfit came together despite how lazily it was selected.

_ “She must have some kind of system.” _

“Thanks, guys. It’ll be fun! Who doesn’t like shopping?” Himawari quickly pieced together her own outfit, and Andi realized that she hadn’t been kidding about the surplus of sportswear. As nice as track-pants looked on her friend, they weren’t the most flattering pieces of clothing.

Andi dressed herself quickly, putting her favorite outfit together for a fun day out with her friends. Black, knee-high boots over fishnet stockings. A blue and purple plaid skirt held in place with a spiked leather belt. Long sleeved sweater over a purple crop top. Blue, fingerless gloves and a few choice accessories sealed the look. Following Gwen out the door, she almost wanted to tell her to leave the shark backpack behind.

_ “We aren’t going to need costumes. We’re just going to the mall,” _ she thought to herself, but Gwen’s text burned at the back of her mind.

_ “…end up getting hurt to get back at us.”  _

She remembered her father’s face as he bled out in her arms. Remembered how shocked and scared he looked expecting her to be next.

“Whatever.”

* * *

 

“But the aesthetics are so similar! I don’t see why we can’t just check Hot Topic out,” Himawari whined, playfully tugging at Andi’s wrists.

“If you wanna go in there, you can go in with Gwen. I’m not stepping foot in there.” Andi had never been more serious in her life, digging her heels in and refusing to even look in that direction. Gwen thought the entire conversation had been hilarious and was currently clutching at her sides, doubled over in laughter.

“Oh man, I  _ love _ youth subculture stereotypes,” she laughed, wiping tears from her eyes.

“Gwen, where do  _ you _ shop,” Andi asked pointedly. They’d been shopping for a couple of hours now and although Gwen had been surprisingly helpful at providing tips, she also hadn’t shown either of them where she gets some of the pieces she owns.

“Uh, probably places I can’t name without costing Marvel a lot of money.” Gwen looked around at all the stores in the mall, noticing that a lot of the names of stores she used to frequent were either renamed or didn’t have names at all. Andi made a mental note to not ask Gwen anymore questions.

“Well, can we take a break and grab something to eat? I’m  _ starving _ and this mall has a teriyaki place that doesn’t taste like it was made just for gaijin… No offense.”

“I’ve eaten for what passes as a Philly Cheesesteak in Manhattan. I know the feeling,” Andi patted Himawari on the shoulder, following her friend to the food court. Gwen followed a few steps behind, whistling whatever tune that’d been stuck in her head recently.

* * *

 

“I’m just saying, they pretty much turned the whole country into a warzone wherever they went. All because they didn’t wanna follow the law. I get that the law was bad, but that’s why you protest! To stop bad laws. It just seems so silly,” Himawari shoved another piece of chicken into her mouth, grateful for the food and the half price discount she’d managed to get after hitting it off with the servers.

“Come on, you even admit it’s a bad law! The government  _ sucks _ when it comes to handling superheroes. If you got superpowers and you could save someone who was about to be hurt  _ right now _ would you really wait for someone to tell you it’s okay?” The conversation was so common, people around the country had been involved in it. The superhero ‘civil war’ had people of all walks of life taking sides.

“These people can fly, teleport, have superspeed… I don’t think  _ getting there _ is that big of a problem,” Himawari replied nonchalantly. She seemed to have her own personal reasons for siding with the SHRA, and Andi didn’t want to push it. Almost everyone the world over had been affected by super-crime in some way.

“What about you, Gwen. Any wisdom you have for us,” Himawari asked, taking a sip of her soda.

“Hahaha! No way. Nuh-uh. Nope.” Gwen shook her head, tickled by the thought of even being asked this question.

“Oh, come on. You’ve gotta have some opinion about this.” Andi knew Gwen didn’t mind having her identity out there, but she needed to know that her new partner wouldn’t just give her up if something like the Registration Act ever happened again. She didn’t want superheroing to become her career, and she doubted the government would be too fond of having a potential queen of hell among their ranks.

“Oh, I do. I’m just not gonna pick a side in canon,” she explained, finishing her apple.   
“Why not?” Andi pushed, wanting to find some reason to trust her new teammate.

“Doctor Strange, Black Bolt and Sentry didn’t get involved because they’re too powerful. Hulk and Thor weren’t even on the planet. Some people just can’t be part of the fun.” Andi and Himawari looked to each other confusedly for a moment.

“Do you  _ ever _ understand her or-”

“No, usually not at all,” Andi promised. Himawari smirked, grabbing a last piece of chicken before getting up from her seat.

“I’m gonna run to the bathroom real quick. Don’t bond too much without me.” She smiled and made her way to the restroom.

“See, Gwen. She’s pretty fun,” Andi pointed out, hoping that her friend would drop her distrust in their shared roommate.

“Mhmm. Yeah, real fun,” Gwen mumbled, slipping her pistols and katanas out of her bag.

“What are you  _ doing,” _ Andi hissed, grabbing Gwen’s wrist and trying to get her to put her weapons away.

“We’re about to be attacked. We’ve got like two panels left before someone comes shooting the place up or something,” Gwen explained, unbuttoning her shirt with unwavering confidence and revealing her costume. She tossed her backpack into Andi’s lap, expecting her teammate to grab her own costume.

“What the  _ hell _ are you talking about, there’s no-”

A yellow and black blur sped through the food court, taking every tray of free samples being offered. The flash was a woman, clad in a yellow and black armored costume with heavy yellow gauntlets that covered her forearms and a black mask that hid her face. She scarfed down the samples in less than a minute, just in time for a crowd of mall security guards to reach the food court.

“Surround her! She can’t run away if you surround her you idiots,” one of the guards shouted, nightstick in hand.

“Ain’t that a bright idea,” the woman laughed, running into the group of guards and bowling them over with a tornado of kicks and punches that knocked them on their asses. Bright blue energy batons fizzled away as she finished her flashy power display. A large portion of the of the food court crowd had already begun running away when she’d appeared, but the fight was the straw that broke the peace. People ran and screamed as they searched for the exit, trying to put distance between themselves and the supervillain.

“Relax, relax! I ain’t here for any of y’all. Unless you’ve got some big bucks in your wallets,” she laughed, dashing out of the food court and back into the heart of the mall. Gwenpool looked at Andi smugly, and the girl really began to hate just how expressive her friend’s mask was.

“Just go catch her. I’ll be right behind you,” Andi growled, ducking under the table as the crowd rushed passed in every direction.

“Thought up a name yet,” Gwenpool asked curiously, peeking under the table at her friend as she dressed herself.

“Can we  _ please _ do this later,” Andi hissed, struggling to get into her bodysuit in the limited space under the table.

“Okay, Hellbreath.”

“No,” Andi shouted, shooing the other hero away. Gwenpool laughed and chased after the villain, trying to cut her off by slipping to a panel ahead of where she’d stopped.

“Hey, Joystick! You’ve been out of print for a while.” Gwenpool waved excitedly, blocking the exit of the Apple Republic the villain had run into.

“Who the hell are you,” the woman asked, stuffing wads of cash from the register into a shopping bag.

“I’m someone just trying to figure out how fast you really are. You know, the power grid on your Wikia article puts you at a 3 for speed, but Speed Demon is a 5 and we all know you’re faster than him.” Gwen had committed every character’s power grids to memory, and there were some discrepancies that confused her.

“Find out for yourself,” Joystick replied, an energy baton sliding from her gauntlet and into her hand. She crouched, ready to run and slam into the hero hard enough to break her spine. Gwenpool smirked, taking a dramatic fighting stance reserved for old karate b movies.

Joystick was a blur as she sped towards her opponent, but Gwenpool knew movement was practically impossible to capture in static comic panels. The only options were to track a long path that the speedster would make through a scene or…

“Quick-” Gwenpool dropped down and spun, trying to sweep Joystick’s legs out from under her.

“Succession-” the villain responded with a knee to the face that Gwenpool shrugged off with a smile.

“Panels.” The hero held a taser in her hand and pressed it against her opponent’s ankle, dropping the villain to writhe in pain on the ground.

“Gwenpool!” Andi had finally caught up, costumed and ready for anything but the scene before her.

“About time, Hotbreath,” Gwen sighed, handcuffing Joystick’s ankles to keep her from running away.

“You… you did this by yourself,” Andi asked confusedly.

“Yeah. She’s not Quicksilver. She can only move as fast as the panels change,” she explained, taking a seat on Joystick’s back as the villain began to shake off the shock.

“I really, really don’t understand you. At all.” Andi sighed, getting her phone out of her pocket to call the police

“You’ll get used to it… or not,” Gwen shrugged.

* * *

 

“Where  _ were _ you guys! I was so worried, I thought something had happened,” Himawari threw her arms around Gwen and Andi, tightly clinging to the taller girls.

“We couldn’t make it to the bathroom to come get you. There was so much chaos,” Andi explained, softly patting her friend’s back, doing her best to try to comfort her.

“Don’t worry about me, I can handle myself,” Himawari laughed, playfully flexing her muscles for emphasis.

“Right,” Andi smirked, ruffling her friend’s hair.

“Anyway, did you hear about those two new heroes? Some weird girl with a pentagram on her chest and another with great legs,” Himawari explained. Andi raised an eyebrow at her, positive she hadn’t seen her roommate in the crowd at all.

“What do you think of them,” Andi asked hesitantly. Despite the girls’ reserved stance on superheroes, she wanted to at least have made a good first impression, in case any of Gwen’s earlier predictions came true.

“Pentagram Girl is trying too hard to look edgy. She looks like she shops at Hot Topic. The ghost girl though… I can appreciate a nice pair of toned legs,” Himawari giggled, cheeks flushed slightly as she spoke. Gwen traded looks with Andi, shock and mischief in her wide blue eyes.

“Himawari, you’re my new best friend,” Gwen laughed, throwing her arms tightly around her roommate.

Andi sighed heavily. Being a superhero was exhausting.


	5. Chapter 5

Flash Thompson did his best to try to keep the craziness of his life away from his family. Andrea Benton had always made that difficult- a member of his family born from the craziness of his life. But he felt responsible for her, and wanted to ensure she was keeping out of trouble.

“I know about the fire, Andi. You’re not the only one who can put two and two together.” His arms crossed over his chest, he didn’t want to try to be a father to her, but sometimes he didn’t know how else to ensure her safety.

“I didn’t start that fire. Honest,” she promised.

“And that whole situation with… Nazi vampires? Did that actually happen?” There were some things even Flash had trouble trying to believe. Had the report not come from Captain America himself, he wouldn’t have believed it at all.

“Yeah, that… I didn’t really have a choice there,” Andi admitted, sheepishly.

“And that attack at the mall? You weren’t involved with that either?”

“That was handled before I even got there.” She knew it wasn’t what Coach wanted to hear, but she didn’t feel the need to lie to him. Even if he wouldn’t agree with her choices, he’d understand why she’d made them.

“Look, Andi. That Hell-Mark… it messes with your head. That cure I gave you was only temporary, and we don’t know how long it’s going to last. I just want to make sure you’re being careful.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping she understood that he was only trying to keep her safe.   
“I know, coach, but I’m fine. Plus, I have a friend that’s been helping me out with the hero stuff,” she explained. She hadn’t told him about Gwen at all, positive that telling coach about her new partner would only make him worry more.

“Yeah, Captain America told me. You gonna introduce us,” he asked with a laugh. He hadn’t expected Andi to be the type of person open and willing for team-ups. At least none that didn’t involve an alien symbiote.

“I’d… rather not,” she replied hesitantly. She’d been hoping that he would leave before Gwen even finished her classes for the day.

“That’s fair. Look, as long as-”

“Is that Flash Thompson!” Gwen had rounded the corner and spied the two standing in front of their shared dorm at the end of the hallway.

“Oh god.” Andi hid her face in her hands, preparing herself for the worst.

“Hi! Hey, it’s me! Gwen Poole. I’m sure Andi’s told you all about me, it’s so cool to meet you! Wow, the legs look so  _ real! _ It’s like the whole amputee thing got retconned, huh?” Gwen shook Flash’s hand excitedly, talking a mile a minute.

“Oh, you were protecting me,” Flash asked, eyeing Andi as she tried to be as small as possible.

“Yeah. She has this really weird ability to be super creepy and know things she shouldn’t,” Andi hissed, glaring at her partner.

“Right, right, sorry! My bad. Don’t use my encyclopedic knowledge of this entire universe to make people uncomfortable,” Gwen laughed, waving at the man as she walked passed to get into her dorm.

“You looked cooler with the Venom symbiote-” Andi pulled the door shut, cutting her off.

“If you’re that desperate for a partner-”

“Coach, don’t you think I’m suffering enough?” Flash laughed, deciding she was right and letting the joke go.

“Just remember, Andi. I’m here. And so’s your… friend,” he reminded her.

“Thanks coach.” Andi wasn’t big on physical affection, but she leaned into her coach anyway. Sometimes a good hug helped make things easier.

“Psst. Can I borrow your symbiote? I’ve never actually worn one in canon and- hey!”

* * *

 

“Hey, Andi. Are you, um… are you alright?” Gwen had come back from breakfast, curiously looking at her roommate. Andi had class now, and she still hadn’t even gotten out of bed. The lights were off, the blinds closed as she scrolled through her social media.

“Hm? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine,” Andi replied offhandedly, not even bothering to look up from her phone.

“Well… I know you get kinda uncomfortable about me knowing things I shouldn’t but I do know today is the anniversary of Venom Volume 2 #38…” Gwen’s voice trailed off as she spoke. She knew what was bothering her friend, but she didn’t want to be the one to bring it up.

“Gwen, I’m not in the mood for your weirdness.” Andi huffed and turned around in her bed, giving Gwen her back. She wanted her to leave, but she didn’t want to be alone even more.

“I know. That’s why I’m gonna try to be the least weird possible.” Gwen threw her arms around her friend, hugging her closely.

“You’re… you’re not doing a great job.” Andi could feel the knot in her throat and the tears threatening to fall. She hated feeling like this.

“I know. You goth trope kids hardly ever open up. You can talk to me, you know? You don’t have to be so tough all the time.” Gwen kept her arms around her friend for a long while.

_ “She hasn’t kicked me off yet.” _ A few minutes passed before she finally heard her friend sniff and wipe a tear from her eye.

“I just miss him so much.”

“I know,” Gwen hugged her a little tighter. She missed her family, too, even if they might not remember she existed.

“I’m just so… so angry. And it’s not the Mark. It feels like… like I should be doing something that I’m not. I hate this.” Andi was never good at opening up about feelings, but anger was an easy place to start.

“I… hm, never mind.” Gwen bit her tongue. She wasn’t normally one to think about the consequences of her words, but she really didn’t want to bother her friend at the moment.

“No. What? What were you going to say,” Andi pressed, sitting up and turning to face Gwen.

“Well I was… looking through the news… and long, complicated story short, Deadpool killed Jack O’Lantern in Wakanda. He’s dead.” Gwen half expected to see Andi’s Hell-Mark, and was more than a little surprised at the couple of tears that fell instead.

“... that’s… that’s fine. That’s fine. I don’t care,” her voice was weak and shook as she spoke.

“I don’t care. I’m glad he’s dead. He  _ deserves _ to be dead. He brainwashed that guy into… into what happened. My father…” Andi trailed off, emotions she didn’t even know she’d felt washing over her. Anger. That was one she was used to. She screamed, tearing her pillow apart, eyes glowing red as her Hell-Mark burned on her chest.

“Andi! Andi!” Gwen held onto her as tight as she could as the shadows of demons danced along the walls in the flickering light of Andi’s Hell-Mark. Her breath smelled like brimstone and her hair whipped around her face as an invisible storm flowed from her. Her voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once, as if thousands of tortured demons were speaking through her and with her. Hellfire danced along her wrists, threatening to burn Gwen as it spread up her body like water flowing uphill. And as quickly as it’d begun, it stopped. The shadows faded away into wisps, the wind tugging at her hair died, and everything was back to normal. Save the tears falling down her face.

“I’m really sorry, Andi,” Gwen sighed, nuzzling into her friend.

“I should’ve been the one… I should’ve done it…” She remembered how her coach had stopped her from killing Jack the first time. It hadn’t actually been Jack O’Lantern, instead it was an innocent storage worker who’d stumbled upon some of Jack’s robots and been brainwashed into believing he was the murderous psychopath. She hadn’t killed that man, but the  _ real _ Jack was safe on the Raft the whole time, and she’d wanted nothing more than to break into his cell and kill him as he slept. To take from him what he’d taken from her father. And now even the chance of revenge was gone.

“Andi. If you need help with anything… I’m kinda reliable.” Gwen knew she wasn’t the kind of character that others would look to when they needed help. She knew she was the comic relief, whacky, happy-go-lucky teammate whenever she was part of a team. But she really hoped Andi would understand just how much she cared.

“... thanks Gwen,” Andi nodded, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands.

“Alright. Want me to text Himawari? She’ll probably bring snacks,” she offered hopefully.

“Yeah… thanks.”

* * *

 

“So, what’s up with all the weird stuff you say,” Andi asked. They’d been sparring for about an hour, keeping in shape for the next fight. Andi still didn’t feel entirely safe knowing that two Nazi vampires were out there potentially plotting their revenge, and she wasn’t going to be caught unawares.

“Huh,” Gwen asked confusedly, her heel missing Andi’s nose by an inch as she spun like a ballerina.

“The way you talk. Like everything’s just a trope or something? Why do you do that?” Andi ducked under Gwen’s leg to try to tackle her, a quick punch in the gut forced her to keep her distance.

“Oh! Oh, have we gotten close enough for you to unlock that question tree?”

“That’s what I’m talking about. Why do you talk like that? It’s so weird,” Andi stopped for a drink of water and to wipe the sweat dripping down her face and neck. Gwen was surprisingly agile despite claiming to have no formal training.

“Yeah, I’ve been told,” she laughed, taking a sip of water for herself.

“Well,” Andi asked. She’d known Gwen for months now and the question had been burning at the back of her mind forever. Himawari had even asked her in private more than once and Andi had never been sure what to say.

“Okay. Yeah, I think we’ve been through enough issues together. But you can’t get mad about what I’m gonna say, okay,” Gwen said sincerely.

“Sure.” Andi really doubted anything her friend could say would be a surprise anyway.

“You know how different universes exist, right,” Gwen started, doing her best to try to make what she was about to say believable.

“Yeah. Coach told me about how he spent time in some miniverse a while ago,” Andi replied. The multiverse theory wasn’t too difficult to grasp.

“Right. Well, I’m from a different universe, too. And in this universe, we have books that tell the lives of every superhero in this universe,” she explained.

“Like a comic book,” Andi asked confusedly. It wasn’t entirely outlandish, and Gwen did seem to know about a lot of things most people probably shouldn’t.

“Exactly like a comic book! I could pick up Amazing Fantasy #15 and read about Spider-Man’s first adventure, or grab Secret Wars and read about Battleworld... And it’s not just books, we have movies and tv shows… Everything that anyone in a costume has ever done, I know about it.” Encyclopedic knowledge of the Marvel universe didn’t come without a lot of work.

“So they’re just, like, portals into this universe? Like scrying or something?” Andi wasn’t sure if she liked where this was going. 

“No… they  _ are _ this universe,” Gwen watched as Andi wrestled with the idea. The look in her eyes as she finally settled on an emotion made Gwen tear away, inspecting her shoelaces.

“You think we’re a book,” Andi hissed angrily.

“You promised not to get mad,” Gwen reminded her.

“You think this whole universe is a fucking book,” Andi asked again, grabbing the smaller girl by her collar.

“That doesn’t mean I think any less of it! I loved this universe before I even got here, Andi! This is a dream come true for so many people. I used to kill people all the time when I first got here. Extras, bad f tier villains. I already had my character arc. I don’t wanna ruin that-”

“You’re  _ fucking _ crazy,” Andi let her go, dropping her onto the floor and walking away.

“Andi, wait! I can prove it! There’re text bubbles and sound effects and panels and The Gutter. Andi, please!” Gwen picked herself up off the floor and tried to follow Andi out the door.

“Gwen. We’re done. I’ve been around enough psychos to last a lifetime.” She shot a look at her partner, hell glowing in her eyes. Gwen got the message and, for once, didn’t press it. Andi slammed the door behind her and walked back to their dorm.

“This crossover sucks. Can’t believe I miss the West Coast Avengers right now,” she mumbled, wiping a tear from her eye.


	6. Chapter 6

Getting to Hell wasn’t actually that difficult. Getting  _ out _ of Hell was the hard part… or at least that’s what all the books warned.

Andi had returned to the underground library and had spent two weeks looking up the information that she’d need. She was going to go to Hell, find Jack’s soul, and make him  _ hurt. _ She finally had everything she needed. Twenty-eight tries to draw the perfect pentagram on the ground. Candles arranged around the room, the head of a goat as an anchor to help her get back, and blood. Lots of blood. She still felt a little dizzy, but shook the thought from her mind.

“Alright, Andi. Get in, find Jack, a little torture and then we’re out. Should be easy. The demons will listen to me, the fire can’t hurt me…”

_ “I’ve never been to Hell before.” _

She sat down in the middle of the circle, one of the books she’d taken resting on her lap as she reread the incantation again. It was long and written in Latin, but she’d been studying that language as an elective for months now. She was sure she had the pronunciation down. She just had to take the first step.

She stumbled over the first few words before starting over. This time her voice was stronger, Hell-Mark carving itself onto her chest and eyes glowing blood red. Demons crawled up through the ground and danced along the edge of the pentagram, laughing and cheering as she read the incantation. The candles around her sporadically flickered and reignited, creating puffs of smoke that grew darker the longer she spoke. Fire spread from her seat in the middle of the pentagram, and followed the patterns along the ground, pouring down the angles and concentric circles she’d spent hours replicating until the entire design was glowing a dull red with the cinders.

“Portae Inferni, aperi pro regina!” She shouted the last line, and all of the candles and fire blew out, plunging the room into darkness. The symbols on the floor began to glow again, and the outer edge of the pentagram sunk into the floor, creating a spiral staircase that stretched deep down into the ground. A blast of hot air rushed upwards as it finished, filling the room with the smell of smoke and the screams of agonized souls. Andi smirked, her eyes burning with Hellfire as she stood up and looked down the stairwell she’d created. Dusting herself off, she made sure she hadn’t forgotten anything before taking her first step down into Hell.

The descent seemed to take forever. She’d rounded the spiral for what must’ve been the hundredth time, always expecting to see Hell right around the corner. A throbbing in her chest warned her to turn back the whole way down. To run and cancel the spell before it was too late- before she was stuck here forever. But then she remembered the look on her father’s face as he bled to death. Jack  _ had  _ to pay.

She  _ felt _ it before she saw it. The rise in temperature, the blinding light of the brimstone fires that had burned for eternity and will burn for an eternity afterwards. It was a force pushing against her, the last warning to turn back, to leave and never return. She pushed through anyway, the heat feeling like the warmth of the sun on an early summer’s day and the fire tickling her ankles like wet grass for as long as she wore the Hell-Mark.

Hell wasn’t exactly  _ organized. _ There was no help desk or directory to help her find a specific soul. Any normal person who stumbled here would get lost in seconds- if they hadn’t already been driven mad by the horrors around them. Luckily, Andi wasn’t a normal person. She was branded- mind, body and soul- as a potential successor to Mephisto. As little as she knew about this place, it belonged to her. A path made of blood painted itself along slick the ground, any demons that it touched screamed as they burned, writhing in pain as they were engulfed in flames. The path meandered a few hundred feet before making a right turn and disappearing behind a large blob of living flesh.

“Sure. I’ll bite.” Andi sighed and followed the trail, making sure to only step on the bloodied path and not touch the squirming ground on either side. Demons laughed and jeered as she passed, following her for a while before moving on. Tormented souls screamed and begged for mercy as they were ripped apart by larger demons, reaching out to her for help as the agony of their eternal damnation took its toll. She ignored them all and pushed on.

The path seemed to go on forever, just like the stairs, but Andi had lost all sense of time. It seemed to pool and race at different instances, like a river. An hour might pass before she’d taken a single step, only for time to slip away again as she walked a mile in under a second. She focused her mind on the goal, and ignored the journey. She was here for Jack and nothing more.

Miles passed before the path wandered into a dark alley between two large, abandoned buildings. Andi quickened her pace, knowing she must be nearing the end of her journey. She followed to the end of the alley, a large brick wall cutting short her bloody trail. She looked around, confusedly, expecting to see him at any moment.

“He  _ has _ to be here,” she hissed angrily.

“Are you here for me? I didn’t even have a visitor on the Raft, haha!” Andi turned, fists clenched as she locked eyes with the man. A bullet hole ran straight through his head, but other than that he seemed…

“Normal,” she whispered confusedly. Shaggy brown hair, and slight stubble growing along his jaw. He wasn’t the terrifying, disfigured man coach Thompson had warned her about.

“What? Did you expect me to be in full costume down here? Hahaha, if only I could bring some toys with me, the fun I’d have down here! Flying overhead and torturing lost souls. I’d be a king,” he laughed excitedly, smile wide on his face as he walked closer to her, like a predator waiting for a chance to pounce.

“But… I don’t remember  _ you _ . Not at all, not at all, little demon girl. You someone I killed? Someone come looking for a little revenge on a poor, damned soul?” His every movement was unsettling, crooked smile never leaving his lips as he spoke.

“You tried and failed,” she hissed, clenching her fists. He’d tried to poison her, to hit her with some kind of gas to prove to coach Thompson that he couldn’t be a hero. Instead, the Venom symbiote had transferred its clone to her, and made her a hero in her own right. She’d become Mania, all thanks to Jack O’Lantern.

“Then it looks like this is my redo!” He lunged at her, grabbing her by the throat and slamming her into the ground. His grip cut off her breath, making it nearly impossible to gather the energy for any Hellfire.

“Oh, can't you see how delicious this is! As long as I’m down here I can do whatever I want,” he was monologuing. Giddy with joy as he clawed at Andi’s face, desperate to hurt someone that hadn’t already been suffering a lifetime of pain. She kicked him off, sending him flying into the alley wall. Clenching her fists, Hellfire poured from her palms as she dropped into stance, ready to pummel him into the ground.

“So can I,” she yelled angrily, feeling her Hell-Mark swell as she called on its power. A group of small, child-like demons swarmed from the building like a plague, piling on Jack and slamming him to the ground as they ripped his flesh from his bones. Instead of the painful agony she’d wanted to hear, he laughed. Tears streaming down his face as he kicked his feet, the demons’ attack nothing more than a tickle to him.

“Oh, if this is my eternal torment I’m gonna have a blast,” he exclaimed, the demons melting into the ground as his flesh regrew around his body.

“I’m just getting started,” she warned, racing over to him and picking him up by the collar of his shirt. She slammed her fist into his face again and again, tears pouring down her cheeks under her mask as she released all of the anger that had been building up all this time. Her Hell-Mark burned even brighter and she used her power to ignite her fists in Hellfire, slamming them down onto his skull. She left him a gurgling husk on the ground, waiting for him to regenerate before she started again.

“You know, you should really check curfew before you start running around Hell. The warden’s not gonna be too happy about this.” Jack spat a few teeth out of his mouth as he spoke, popping his eye back into its socket as he sat up, grin wide on his broken face.

“Wha-”

“Child. It seems I’ve arrived too late to welcome you.” Mephisto was larger than life, sitting on the roof of the abandoned building behind her, watching the scene unfold below. His presence made her blood freeze and the hair at the back of her neck stand on end. The ultimate evil was staring at her, grin on his face as he spoke.

“But I hope you’ve enjoyed your time in Hell. You’ll be spending the rest of eternity here.” He waved his hand nonchalantly in Andi’s direction, and this time the burning of her Hell-Mark  _ hurt. _ It sizzled against her skin, branding itself into her flesh as she fought to suck down a breath. Then came the rage, blinding and pure. Lesser demons tore themselves apart as she commanded them to feel the pain she felt. Larger demons howled in agony as her mark throbbed against her heart. But she wanted more. Straddling Jack, she clawed at him, tearing open his chest and clawing out his heart as he screamed in pain. She sealed the wound with a breath of Hellfire and did it all over again, pinning the man to the ground as he floundered in torment.

“Yes, child. Revenge is sweet, isn’t it? Let it fill you up. Let it overtake you.” Mephisto’s voice was a whisper, but she could hear it in her soul. She was rabid, feral. Jack reached up pitifully, begging for a reprieve.

“Five seconds… please,” blood pooled from his mouth and nose, caking his face and obscuring his vision. Andi didn’t even notice, taking the hand and snapping it at the wrist, causing him to howl in pain.

“My mark seems to sit well with you, girl. Such rage in your heart. Rath is one of my favorite sins to watch unfold,” he cackled, devilish grin widening into a smile. Andi ripped Jack’s arm off at the shoulder before disemboweling the man, panting as she exerted herself in her rabid state. She could do this for an eternity. Watch the life ebb and flow from Jack’s eyes as he regenerated only to be torn to shreds however she saw fit next. It was pure bliss. No revenge could be sweeter for the loss of her father.

Her father.

She watched as the life drained from Jack’s eyes, horror washing over her.

_ “It has to be the Hell-Mark,” _ she reasoned, losing the fight to stop herself from snapping the man’s neck.

“Not at all. My mark is only giving you the strength to do what you desire. This carnage is all your own doing, girl,” Mephisto laughed, shrinking down to human size to lay a hand on her shoulder.

“You’re doing great,” he cooed, the contact making her want to jump out of her skin.

“Yo, dollar store Satan. Your dry-cleaners called, they said you can stop wearing your underwear to work!” Gwenpool descended with a barrage of bullets, peppering Mephisto who hissed at the sting of holy water. Lifting his cloak, he vanished in a puff of smoke, only to reappear giant-sized, looming over the alleyway.

“Andi, come on. Clifford the big red demon wants to eat my soul,” she begged, dragging her friend off Jack’s body and finally breaking the trance she was in. Andi shook herself sluggishly, only to be pulled frantically by Gwen, practically dragging her out of the alleyway.

“Andi, let’s  _ go,”  _ she shouted, finally snapping her friend back to her senses. Gwen ran ahead, trying to find the hole in the Gutter she’d made to get here only to find it sealed off. With a quick tear, Gwenpool opened another hole into her dimension, stepping one foot in before looking back. Andi was still dozens of feet behind her, time all but standing still as she desperately rushed to meet her friend.

“Andi come  _ on!” _ Andi rushed towards her friend, a horde of demons rising from the ground, clawing at her ankles in an attempt to drag her back towards their master. She grabbed her friend’s hand just as one of the fiends succeeded, cackling as it dragged her down to her knees.

“Gwen, get out of here! This-”

“Andi,  _ shut up!”  _ Gwen held on to her friend’s wrist and  _ pulled _ , dragging her out of the grasp of the demons that were desperately trying to deliver her to Mephisto.

“Gwen, I can’t believe-”

“Shut up and close your eyes,” she hissed, pulling Andi to her feet.

“Run along children. Remember, as long as you bare my mark, you’ll always have a place here,” Mephisto laughed, Hellfire whipping up a storm around the entire area. Demons were battered and sucked into the flames, igniting like kindling in the wind. As quickly as he’d appeared, he was gone. All the demons in Hell however, screamed in agony all at once, moving along the path that Andi had taken to get here.

“You aren’t going anywhere,” Jack screamed, tackling Andi and pinning her to the ground.

“It’s gonna be you and me. Enemies in Hell. We can do anything we want- we can kill each other as many times as we want,” Jack laughed, clawing at Andi’s chest in an attempt to pay her back for ripping his heart out.

“Andi, we need to get out of here  _ now! _ We’re running out of pages in this issue,” Gwen yelled, blasting holes into demons that’d gotten too close to her hole in the universe. They screamed and turned to dust as the holy water soaked bullets pierced through them.

“I’m only going to have to kill you once,” Andi smirked, her Hell-Mark burning through her costume as she dug deep and summoned every ounce of energy she had left. She directed it all in one blast out at Jack O’Lantern, the Hellfire slamming him into the nearest building. The flames obscured the screaming, writhing man inside them, ruining his skin as it used his body fat to burn even hotter. Andi would’ve stayed to watch the carnage, but Gwen grabbed her by her jacket and yanked her into The Gutter. They fell through the no-man’s-land of space and time, panels and pages of thousands of different comic books flying passed them as Gwen shifted her weight, doing her best to direct them towards the panel she’d prepared. Looking back, she could see Andi had her eyes wide open, but instead of taking in the world around them, she was focused on the panel they’d just barely left in one piece. Jack pounding the ground they’d left behind, before getting up and quickly running away.

They crashed in through the top of the page into the panel, falling on their butts right outside their dorm room. Gwen looked around, making sure no one had seen them before raising her arms in victory.

“And we stick the landing,” she laughed excitedly.

“Gwen! The stairs,” Andi hissed, taking off down the hallway.

“Oh, yeah.” They raced across campus, desperate to close the portal before anything made its way onto the campus grounds. They made it to the underground library in less than two minutes, panting breathlessly as they ran inside and shut the doors behind them.

“I can’t think of a fancy way to close that, Andi. I hope you know how to-”

**“RRRRREEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!”**

“Just buy me some time,” Andi shouted, jumping over the narrow staircase onto the small, circular platform that she’d been sitting on in the middle of the pentagram. The pages of the book had been blown around by the hot winds of hell and she’d lost her spot, she hadn’t even committed the page to memory. Gwenpool took up a position at the top of the stairwell, looking down into the pit and blasting holes into demons as they fought their way out of the pits of Hell. The ground shook as they worked- something gigantic was making its way up the steps. Andi severely doubted it would be deterred by holy bullets or Hellfire.

“You’ve got until that thing makes it to the top step,” Gwenpool called, holstering her pistols and grabbing a pair of SMGs before taking aim at the waves of lesser demons that tried to crawl their way up out of staircase. Andi tore her eyes away from the scene below and desperately searched for the reversal spell.

Gwen hummed a playful tune as she slaughtered dozens of demons in minutes. Larger ones with sharp claws were riddled with bullets and sent tumbling back down the spiral staircase, knocking their compatriots down with them. Some demons flew over the heads of their smaller brethren and attempted to fly away into the night, only to have their wings clipped by the blade of a katana or blown out of the sky outright. And the earthquakes grew louder as whatever monster Mephisto had called after them climbed nearer.

“Andi, I think we’re too late,” Gwen watched as the monster hauled itself up several steps at a time with its long, gangly arms, open maw salivating at the scent of fresh air.

“Portae Inferni, Opstruo!” The stairs shifted, forming a ramp down into the underworld. Hundreds of demons that’d been climbing the steps quickly slid down, swallowed even faster by a current of hot air that threatened to suck books off their shelves across the library. Gwen squeaked as she slipped, her front foot having been resting on the top step of the staircase. She threw her arms back as she tried to regain her balance, but the reversal was too strong. It threw her off her feet and she slid down into the stairwell.

Andi grabbed Gwen’s wrist, fire glowing in her eyes as she used the power of her Hell-Mark to fight against the impossibly strong pull of the underworld.

“Andi, if you let me go, I’m gonna be so mad,” Gwenpool warned, dangling helplessly as she watched the monster pull itself forward another few feet. It snapped its jaws at her ankles and she yelped, bringing her knees to her chest.

“Correction, if that thing touches me, I’m gonna be  _ so mad,” _ she screamed, unloading her entire clip into the beast’s face, bullets bouncing off its grotesque rotting flesh like grains of sand.

Andi pulled with all her might, fighting for every inch she could afford as she dragged Gwen back up the ramp. The monster bellowed again, the stench of decay pouring off of it in waves. It made her dizzy, made her want to puke or pass out. Andi tugged even harder, finally dragging Gwen out of the portal.

With a mechanical click, the portal began to seal itself, slamming shut just as the beast reached forward to climb the last few feet out of the stairwell. It banged loudly against the trap door before its screams were cut short. The bloody symbols on the ground stopped glowing, the candles went out.

Hell was sealed.

“Andi,” Gwen asked, taking her mask off to look her friend in the eye.

“Yeah,” Andi asked, doing the same. She was beyond tired, and her chest hurt like the worst heartburn she’d ever experienced. But she was alive.

“If you wanted to spice things up, we could’ve just fought each other, you know? You didn’t have to open the gates of hell just to make this run interesting.” She wiped the sweat off her face with the back of her hand as she spoke, having spent most of the past week trying to come up with a plan to beat her friend in a fight should the need arise. 

“I don’t think I’m ever going to understand you, Gwendolyn Poole,” Andi decided, arms crossed over her chest as she listened to her ramble.

“That’s fine… as long as you’re not mad at me anymore,” Gwen asked hopefully.

“Not anymore… I’m sorry I treated you like that… I was… I was really angry, I… it was dumb,” Andi’s voice was soft and shaky, still wavering from her journey to Hell. It was impossible to not be changed by what she’d seen.

“Yeah it was… but it’s alright. Spider-Man tried to throw me in front of a train when I told him. This actually wasn’t so bad.” Gwen laughed, reaching out to hold Andi’s hand. Andi recoiled from the touch before reaching out and seeking it herself. She took Gwen’s hand in hers as they rested on their backs, looking up at the dusty ceiling as the sunrise began to fill the room with light.

“Thanks, Gwen. I don’t think Princess of Hell, would’ve looked good on a resume anyway,” Andi laughed softly.

“Depends on the job application.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Quentin, just leave me alone!”

“What is your  _ problem? _ I just want to talk to you,” a guy’s voice replied angrily. 

“I don’t want to talk to you! You shouldn’t even be here. I actually knew Kate before West Coast started, but  _ we _ should’ve been retconned a long time ago.”

“You’re insane!”

Andi really wished she’d gone straight to lunch instead of trying to drop her bag off at her dorm first. She listened to the shouting match unfolding in her dorm and struggled to think up the best plan of action.

“So all that time we spent together means nothing to you?” He sounded angrier, but his voice wavered slightly, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Nothing at all! I don’t even like that version of me! I never got to use my powers, I was just comic relief!”

“I didn’t see you as comic relief,” he responded. 

“No, you saw me as a damsel in distress half the time. You thought I was someone you needed to save from herself. You don’t even know the first thing about me!” There was a long, pregnant pause that seemed to stretch on forever. Andi doubted she’d be able to cut the tension even with adamantium claws. 

“Look. Quentin… I’m sorry. But I don’t feel that way about you. We really weren’t great for each other while we were Avengers anyway.” She sounded softer, like she was trying to comfort him while still pressing her point. 

“I don’t think so. I actually cared about you. Do you know how hard that is for me to even admit?”

“I know. Not being a jerk goes against everything in your TVtropes file  _ and _ your wikia page. But if you haven’t been retconned since West Coast, then maybe all that growth you went through was good for something. People  _ like _ you now, Quentin. You’re a pretty cool character. In a stubborn, smarter-than-you kind of way.” That sounded pretty sincere coming from Gwen.

“Well that was never in question.”

“Don’t ruin this, Quire.”

“Can we… can we still be friends? Or is that too weird?” He spoke like he was walking on eggshells.

“Of course! I can come visit you at the… where are you now anyway?”

“I’m flying solo.”

“Quentin. Promise me you’ll get a team soon, okay? You’re a Mutant. You guys work best as a group. And I’ll come visit you and Jeff whenever I have time, okay?”

“Sure thing, Poole. Jeff’s still yours though. As soon as you graduate you’re taking him back.”

“Oh, hush. You two are probably getting along great,” she laughed. There was another long pause before Andi felt something tickling the back of her mind. She scratched the back of her head before her body shut down on her, unable to do anything but breathe.

“There’s someone outside your door,” Quentin warned, floating towards the door.

“Huh,” Gwen asked confusedly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll wipe them.”

“Wait! Wait, wait. It’s probably my roommate,” Gwen sped passed him, opening the door for Andi.

“The one you said I can’t tell about the hero stuff?”

“No, my  _ other _ roommate. Hi Andi! Let her go, please.” Gwen wrapped an arm around her friend before Kid Omega released his control of her. Her body dropped, but Gwen was there to catch her, helping her back to her feet. 

“Oh. She’s cool I guess,” he huffed, adjusting his glasses on his face as he stood a little straighter.

“Don’t act like that. Quentin, this is Andi. Andi, this is Quentin Quire, and he’s very sorry for invading your mental privacy.” She pushed the two of them closer together, hoping that Quentin’s earlier mental tinkering wouldn’t turn Andi off completely.

“Why does she need to know my full name,” he asked, taking Andi’s hand but not making eye contact with the girl.

“Because it sounds better when there’s alliteration,” Gwen sighed, sitting back down at their desk.

“Kid Omega,” Quentin said, finally looking Andi in the eye.

“Still deciding.”

“Better pick quick or else the public will make one up for you. End up with some simpleton name like Iron Man.” Quentin scoffed, as if it couldn’t be any more simple that Iron Man’s suit was made of a titanium-gold alloy.

“Yeah, I-”

_ “Keep her safe.”  _ The words bounced around inside Andi’s brain as if whispered by a giant. She cocked an eyebrow at him confusedly, unable to actually respond.

_ “I know she can handle herself, but… look, just keep her safe, okay?” _

Andi nodded, eyes locked on Quentin’s.

“Ooookay? Wait. Are you two having a psychic conversation without me? That’s rude, you know!”

* * *

 

“It’s so nice to see you, Gwen!” The door opened quickly, revealing a woman who made Andi’s heart flutter. Her aesthetic was perfect, a long, regal, black dress smoothly contouring to her form. Her makeup was striking… she looked like a work of art. Andi stood still for a few moments, jaw fallen open as she looked Gwen’s friend up from head to toe.

“Sarah! I thought you’d been erased from continuity, I was so scared to reach out to you,” Gwen said happily, practically jumping into the woman’s arms.   
“Oh, nonsense. I’d never be able to be a supportive friend if I just up and disappeared every time I lost contact with someone for a few months,” Sarah laughed, pressing a kiss to Gwen’s forehead. Andi’s heart was hammering in her chest so hard she was surprised neither of her friends could hear it.

“Now, let’s see this Andi you’ve told me so much about. Ahhh, yes, her eyes do shine like fresh cut amethyst crystals. I might have to borrow one,” Sarah smiled wide, taking Andi’s hand in hers. Her skin was soft and smooth, her nails painted the same dark brown as her eyes. 

“You could have them both,” Andi replied breathlessly. Gwen and Sarah laughed and Andi’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

“Please, come in, and welcome to my home, young ladies.” Sarah curtsied respectfully and led them inside. She poured them both a drink from a pitcher of water, but when the liquid hit their cups it turned pitch black, flecked with specks of gold. It was ice cold in her hand, so pretty Andi almost didn’t want to drink it.

“Now, you said I’d need my other half, hm,” Sarah asked, turning curiously to Gwen.

“Yeah. Andi’s basically Hellspawn now and- ow!” Andi smacked her arm, angrily glaring at her.

“Oh, she wouldn’t be the first Hellspawn at my door, silly. However I suppose she would be the first I wasn’t torturing to provide some service for me,” soft brown eyes fluttering behind long lashes. Sarah laughed to herself for a moment before getting up and taking an odd looking headpiece out of a glass case.

“Let’s put the Eye on and take a closer look at you.”

“Thanks so much for this, Sarah. You’re the best.”

“Oh, it’s been too long since I’ve had a chance to wear the Eye… I should be thanking you.” Sarah smiled sweetly before putting the headpiece on. She took a deep breath before looking around curiously, clenching her hands a few times as the eyes in her headpiece rotated around in their sockets. She cocked her head as she looked back to girls before focusing exclusively on Andi.

“Marked with the hatred and rage of Mephisto himself,” Terrible Eye placed a hand on Andi’s chest, tracing the angles of the pentagram in reverence.

“... but you’ve struck no deal with him… someone else?” Her voice was soft, barely a whisper as she studied the Hell-Mark. Andi hardly breathed, cheeks flushed as Terrible Eye touched her.

“Who did this to you, child?”

“It was an accident. My coach made the deal, but his… partner got it instead. Then it gave it to its clone to try to save him… and I ended up with the clone.” Andi had never said it out loud before, but she really wished her life hadn’t gotten so wildly complicated.

“Yes, it’s passed through many souls before residing here… You’ve been using it?” Andi hesitated, not wanting to tell the woman the truth. She didn’t want to paint herself with that kind of brush.

“Yeah, she uses it all the time. For Hellfire and stuff though, nothing too serious,” Gwen rambled, already on her fourth cup of the starry liquid.

“Resurrection is certainly more serious than most would like to believe,” Terrible Eye responded, finally pulling away.

“Resurrection? I haven’t resurrected anybody,” Andi said confusedly. She hadn’t even known that that’d been an option.

“You’ve been to Hell.” It wasn’t a question, just something the Eye had observed on Andi’s Hell-Mark.

“Yeah, a week ago now,” Gwen explained.

“And you interacted with a soul there.”

“Yeah,” Andi asked, her heart dropping at the implication.

“And you allowed the soul an exit from its damnation.”

“No I- we sealed it! We  _ definitely _ sealed it.”

“Not before the soul escaped.” Terrible Eye spoke confidently, as if there were no other option than the one she saw. Andi looked to Gwen for help, but she shrugged nonchalantly, bringing an eighth cup of the starry liquid to her lips.

“Your actions are written on your soul. Even those whose consequences you hadn’t foreseen…”

“So what do I do? Am I-”

“Correct your mistake and I can easily remedy the more… unpleasant aspects of the Mark.” She clasped Andi’s hands in her own, trying to convey just how important it was to her soul to fix this.

“What do you mean?”

“She means we gotta kill Jack,” Gwen explained, her eyes having gone completely black, hundreds of small, bright stars floating around inside of them.

“Return Jack to his agony, and I can calm the anger in your soul. I can cut the ties to the promise you never agreed to. And you can keep all the power.” Terrible Eye let go of Andi’s hands and removed her headpiece, sighing softly as she returned to herself.

“Oh that’s definitely an asspull,” Gwen said in astonishment, shooting stars zipping passed a small planet being held by an impossibly large being in a purple helmet.

“Um, Sarah? Is Gwen-”

“I’ve never seen anyone drink that much before… I’m not entirely sure what’s happening to her.”

“Oh! So that’s where that is,” Gwen said softly, her eyes zooming in on a weird red mist that congealed like blood over an altar. Sarah places a finger under Gwen’s chin, lifting the younger woman’s face to look up into her own as she tried to figure out what reaction her friend might be having.

* * *

 

“So what’s the plan,” Andi whispered softly. Himawari had come back to the dorm from classes early and was fast asleep on her bunk. Thankfully their roommate was a sound sleeper, especially after a workout.

“We snatch him and kill him. He’s just a regular guy, this shouldn’t even be that hard,” Gwen explained with a shrug, not even looking up from her homework.

“I mean finding him. He could be anywhere,” Andi hissed. She wanted to get this done as fast as possible, but tracking bad guys wasn’t exactly something she was good at. Gwen and her weird know-it-all powers was her best chance at ending this before it got out of her control.

“He’s a psychotic mercenary. Just follow the bodies. He’s probably trying to lead us right to him. It’s what he did with Agent Venom,” she explained.

“Good point… And he won’t be expecting what I’ve got in store for him,” Andi smirked, placing her hand over her chest as she spoke.

“What did you just say?” Gwen was glaring at her, finally looking up from her work.

“I said he won’t be-”

“Don’t say it again,” Gwen hissed a little too loudly. They both looked over to Himawari who turned over on her side before falling back asleep.

“What’s the problem,” Andi whispered.

“That’s what every vengeful hero says right before they find out that the bad guy is stronger than they expected!” Gwen seemed visibly upset for the first time Andi could remember. She reached out, gently placing a hand on top of her friends’.

“Gwen, you said it yourself. It’s just Jack O’Lantern. He’s just a regular guy.” Gwen thought for a long time before sighing, running her fingers through her hair.

“Yeah, you’re right. Or was I right? Let’s just make a plan first,” Gwen sighed, finally sliding down from her bunk to join Andi.

* * *

 

The murders had been easy to follow, but Himawari had been the first to bring it to their attention. News stories of bodies found with their heads hollowed out, candles burning through their eyeless sockets.

“Someone’s gotta stop this creep. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s been all over his case but he’s been so erratic… why do you guys care so much,” Himawari asked curiously.

“I just wanna make sure he doesn’t attack college campuses,” Andi explained quickly.

“I’m just really into Halloween and I like his aesthetic-  _ ow!” _

Andi made sure to regularly ask their roommate about the case. A new one cropped up every night for days.

“How does he have the time to do all of that. He’s gotta have some kind of scalp-opener or something, right,” Gwen wondered aloud.

“Gwen,” Andi hissed, swatting her friend.

“Sorry.”

He was taunting them, each murder scene Himawari described more gruesome than the last. A family clinging to each other as they watched tv. An old man, bent over a table with a candlestick in his… Young children posed over their homework as wax dripped from their eyes onto the pages below. They desperately tried to find some link between the people, doing their best to guess who he’d try to attack next.

“Hey, how do you know so much about these cases,” Gwen asked suspiciously. Andi looked at her confusedly.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m writing a report on this guy,” Himawari explained, taking a sip of her protein shake.

“A report? Who writes reports on super-criminals,” she pressed.

“Gwen, I’m a criminal science major!”

“How didn’t I know this,” Gwen looked to Andi confusedly, but she only shook her head in disbelief.

“You never asked,” they responded in unison.

Six days and nine incidents passed before Andi started to grow numb to the gruesome scenes Himawari described. Just another case, another pile of bodies, another clue. Andi quickly grew to respect her roommate’s resolve- someone who wanted to work in this field was stronger than most.

“I got it,” Gwen shouted excitedly, running to Andi who’d been studying in the library.

“Quiet,” Andi hissed, gesturing to the several dozen other college students who’d turned to glare at them.

“What happened?”

“It’s not the people, it’s the places. He’s making a pentagram over Philadelphia,” Gwen explained, showing Andi a map of Jack’s attacks. Sure enough, each incident was a point on a map, all arranged into the shape of a star.

“But we’re already over five instances,” Andi said confusedly, checking the points on the map with the information she’d written down in her notes to make sure they all checked out.

“Yeah, but look. That fifth one- the south point- was where he’d left the bomb. I think he thought we’d figure it out by then and was trying to lead us into a trap,” Gwen explained hastily, tapping the bottommost point of the map.

“So what? We’re not smart enough for him,” Andi asked, arms crossed over her chest.

“Who cares, he’s not Screwball,” Gwen shrugged.

“Who?”

“Never mind. Look, he’s come around to make patterns inside the pentagram now. Look at the map,” Gwen pointed at each of the marks that weren’t part of the star shaped path he’d made.

“Gwen… that’s not just a pentagram. That’s my Hell-Mark,” Andi realized, placing a hand on her chest.

“Oh… maybe all Hell-Marks have those very specific patterns,” Gwen offered sheepishly. Andi glared at her in response, seriously considering swatting her again.

“Sorry, sorry. Just trying to be optimistic.” Gwen sighed, finally taking a seat next to her partner.

“So he knows what a Hell-Mark is. Who cares? It’s not like you’ve got any weaknesses that he could exploit,” she explained with a shrug.

“Except holy water,” Andi reminded her.

“Oh… oh yeah. Well, we can get Ronnie to make you a waterproof costume. You’ll be fine-”

“I can’t burn anything behind a cross.” That was something she’d discovered on her own, her favorite pair of earrings having protected a lot of her possessions from an accidental burning during her early days with her Mark.

“Oh… well we’ll just avoid any churches-”

“I can’t step foot in a church-”

“Andi… you’re killing me here,” Gwen groaned exasperatedly.

“Gwen, even if he knows about Hell-Marks, he doesn’t know anything about you... I trust you.” Andi patted her friend on the shoulder.

“No pressure, right?”

“Well, it’s only to redeem my soul, you know? No big deal.”

* * *

 

“Okay. You ready for this,” Andi asked, more for herself than for Gwenpool.

“Piece of cake,” Gwen smiled nonchalantly. They entered the building quietly, a small apartment complex at the very center of the pentagram. The hallways were empty and quiet, but they knew something had to be off. The acrid smell of smoke poured under a door, and Andi grabbed Gwen’s wrist, calling her attention to it.

“It’s probably a trap,” Gwen whispered.

“Should we try the window,” Andi asked softly. They were only on the second floor, she’d probably be able to climb in if needed.

“No, that’s what he wants,” Gwen explained, leaning her shoulder against the door, waiting to see if any sound effects would come from within the room.

“So through,” Andi asked.

“Through.” Gwen nodded and backed away, letting Andi take over. Andi allowed her Hell-Mark to blaze itself onto her chest, feeling the usual burst of strength rush through her. Gwen held tightly onto her leather jacket, ready to run out of the panel in case some explosion followed the breach. Andi took a deep breath and kicked the door off its hinges.

Nothing followed.

“Come on,” Andi tugged Gwenpool into the home, prepared for whatever grizzly sight she might see.

Any but one.

“Hey there, Andrea. Ya miss me?” Jack O’Lantern sat calmly at the dinner table, eating from a bowl of cereal. With the exhumed body of Andi’s dead father as a dinner guest. He was slumped onto the chair, head lolling off to the side. Fire burned from behind his gouged out eye sockets. Jack’s calling card even more gruesome up close. Andi roared, Hellfire pouring from her body in waves and leaping to burn the walls around her. Gwenpool yelped, dancing away from the flames to hide behind her.

“I’m gonna put you back in the fucking ground,” Andi shouted, Hellfire engulfing her entirely as she stormed towards the mercenary. Gwen took another step back, eyes wide as she watched her friend reach power she had no idea she’d had.

“Yeah, there we go. There’s that anger.” Jack laughed and tossed flaming pumpkins at the pair. They missed by inches but exploded into a cloud of acidic gas when they hit the ground, eating through paint and concrete in seconds.

Andi took a deep breath and exhaled the most powerful jet of Hellfire she’d ever produced. It billowed in a tornado as it crossed the room, missing Jack as he leapt away by inches, and slammed into the wall behind where’d he’d been sitting. Bricks, paint and glass cracked before exploding, sending shrapnel everywhere as half the wall exploded out onto the street below.

“Ooooh, someone’s gonna have to cool down,” Jack laughed, whipping out his gun. Gwen tossed a knife at him expecting him to open fire on them, but instead he raised the pistol up towards the ceiling and fired a single shot, hitting a sprinkler duct. The rest of the ducts activated as one, spraying water everywhere. Andi looked around in confusion as the Hellfire surrounding her went out without so much as a puff of smoke. She tried to summon more, but the mist in the air smothered her every attempt.

“You’ve got no idea how many priests I had to kill to find one who’d make enough holy water for this,” he giggled, kicking his feet up excitedly as he fired his gun wildly at them. Gwenpool jumped in front of Andi, deflecting the bullets back towards him with her katana- something she hadn’t even realized she’d been able to do. Jack’s pumpkin helmet smiled wide, flames growing taller as he watched her work.

“You’re the one who took her away from me. Oh it’s gonna be fun sending  _ you _ to hell,” he laughed, finally standing up from the dinner table and grabbing his broomstick as he walked towards them.

“Not likely. You’re not the main character,” Gwenpool smirked before opening fire on the man. Jack turned on his broomstick, letting the fire from its engine burn the bullets out of the air before jumping on the machine and zooming towards them. He slammed into Gwenpool and grabbed her by the front of her costume before making a beeline for the giant hole in the wall Andi had created. Grabbing his knife, he tried to stab her in the stomach but was blocked by her katana blade. She blocked him for a few swipes before punching him in the helmet, creating a small dent in the soft pumpkin.

“You bitch,” he hissed, slamming her into the side of a building before dropping her. Gwen clung to his broom desperately, trying to climb back on until he stomped on her hand. She screamed as she slipped and fell, and Jack raced back to the apartment, not even bothering to watch her hit the pavement. Flying back to the ruined home, he sped right towards Andi before jumping off his broom, sending the sharpened end flying towards her in an attempt to impale her. She barely managed to jump out of the way, having been distracted in her attempt to move her father’s body out of the apartment. She glared at Jack as he stood menacingly, skipping towards her in excitement.

“Killed your friend. Maybe you’ll see her in the fall,” he laughed, twirling his knife around playfully.

“Let’s see how well of a fight you put up as I carve that Hell-Mark off your chest,” he threatened, emphasizing his point with a few slashes of his blade in an attempt to intimidate her. Andi dropped into stance. She wasn’t bulletproof, or knife proof, and hadn’t been in too many fistfights. But she was stronger than him- she knew that much. And she wasn’t going down without a fight. Dodging Jack’s first slash at her, she planted her feet and punched him square in the gut. Her leather jacket caught the next slash and she countered with another punch, smashing the entire front of his helmet. Andi jumped back as he slashed wildly, clearing the area to give him enough time to take the mashed helmet off.

“Oh fuck,” Andi hissed.

“Whatsa matter? Don’t like your handiwork,” Jack asked playfully. Every inch of his skin was covered in burns, twisted and cracked like old paper, his smile looked as if it’d split his face entirely.

“Didn’t get enough time to heal from your halitosis before I got out of Hell. It’s fine though, I think I’m pretty,” he laughed before whistling loudly. Andi swung again, but this time he weaved out of the way and followed with a stab at her shoulder that pierced the leather and lodged the blade shallowly into her shoulder. She hissed in pain as a trio of demonic robots circled around her, clawing at her back, chest and face.

“Yowr vewwr pwetty!”

“Tha pwettiest pwumpkin in tha land.” She tried to swat them away, but they were fast and stabbed and slashed at her with pitchforks and sharp claws. They quickly cleared away as Jack slammed his fist into her face, stunning her and leaving her open to punch to the gut. The merc grabbed his knife, pulling it out of her shoulder and she shouted in pain. He swept out her feet, knocking her to the ground and straddled her waist. Everything was a game to the man, and if she was done putting up a fight, he was gonna enjoy the last ounce of fun he had left.

“You know, this was a  _ lot _ easier than I expected it to be,” he taunted, easily swatting away a punch she’d thrown.

“You really should’ve rethought the whole superhero thing. Or brought a gun. Guns can fire even if they’re wet,” he laughed as he readied his death blow.

“Thanks for the tip,” Gwenpool shouted, opening fire on the man. The bullets struck him in the back, knocking him off balance. Andi took the opportunity to punch the man in the crotch, sending him sliding off of her. Emptying her smg into his back, Gwen gave Andi enough time to crawl away from the man.

“He said he’d killed you,” Andi said, quickly taking a stance next to her partner.

“He just threw me off his broom. No points for being lazy.”

BANG

Gwen screamed in pain and fell to her knees, doubling over in pain as she clutched her stomach. Blood poured from between her fingers, creating a puddle on the floor. Jack laughed, pulling the trigger a few more times, but no more bullets were fired from his gun.

“Oh, ain’t that a shame,” he sighed, holding his hand out for his broomstick as it came flying through the room. Gwen grabbed onto her partner and slid through the panel, dropping them into a panel a few pages in the future.

“Gwenpool, come on, we almost have him,” Andi screamed, looking around as she tried to find out where her partner had teleported them to. They seemed to be in an alley about a block away from the building. She wanted to run back to finish him off, but didn’t want to leave Gwenpool alone.

“ANDI HE JUST SHOT ME!” Gwen pressed down on the wound, a hole right underneath her ribs that felt like it was on fire.

“Gwen, I gotta-”

“Andi, he  _ shot _ me,” she emphasized.

“Heroes get shot all the time, I can just-”

“Not me! The bad guys always  _ miss _ me! Andi, you don’t understand, this isn’t a comedic genre deconstruction like the rest of my comics anymore this is a  _ real _ comic book with consequences! He’ll  _ kill _ you!”

“You should listen to your partner, Andrea. You  _ can _ die.” Jack was hovering above them, his demonic robots in tow. In seconds, dozens of pumpkin heads were raining down on them. There was no way either of them would be able to run out of the alley in time to avoid the acidic gas. Andi readied herself for what she was sure would be the end, but Gwenpool spoke a mile a minute.

“I know you think Terrible Eye is hot and we can talk about that whenever you want if you want me to hook you up with any of my former teammates or any other hero that’s totally fine I’ll do my best to be the most amazing wingman on the planet.” The pumpkins struck a large, pink bubble that appeared above them, filled Gwenpool’s dialogue. They exploded in a puff of green gas that ate away at the borders of the bubble, but never breached the barrier it created.

“What the hell-”

“Andi,  _ fire!” _ Andi took a deep breath and summoned another jet of Hellfire that lit up the night sky. Jack wasn’t fast enough to dodge it entirely, the flames striking the engine of his broom and sent the man spiralling out of control.

“Round two? Round two!” Jack laughed as he steered his broom away from the pair, Andi desperately launching more jets of Hellfire that missed more terribly the further away he got. Finally out of range, Andi growled, sinking back to her knees to comfort Gwen.

“We gotta get you to a hospital,” she said quickly, pulling her mask off and pushing it against the hole in Gwen’s abdomen.

“You really don’t know anything about heroes, do you? Just hand me my phone, I’ll call Night Nurse.”


	8. Chapter 8

“The whole place was torched! This is what I’m always talking about. These heroes are doing their best but they’re dangerous. They could’ve set the whole building on fire,” Himawari explained. She’d been riled up by the report of the incident last night and was talking a mile a minute. Gwen did her best to pretend she didn’t have a hole in her stomach- Night Nurse had done everything she’d needed to to make sure Gwen would be okay- but walking and sitting up made her wince. The one thing she hadn’t expected was to actually be in pain for long. Heroes seemed to just walk off the pain of things like stab wounds or gunshots, and she’d expected the same to go for her. Clearly she still had to work out some of the rules of this universe.

“Hey, Himawari? Can you give us a break for a bit? We were up all night working on our literature project.” Gwen glanced over at Andi, but her friend was off in another world, not even having touched her lunch.

“Guys, um… I’m not really that good at talking about things like this so I’ll just say it. If you two need the dorm for…  _ activities _ … you can just let me know. I don’t mind sleeping in the lounge for a night,” her cheeks were flushed bright red as she spoke, eyes never leaving her meal.

“Huh?” Gwen was speechless looking back over to Andi who’d finally snapped out of her trance.

“You guys are always running off together and spending late nights working on ‘projects’ or whatever… Gwen’s been walking kinda funny all day… I can put two and two together,” Himawari popped another piece of gyoza into her mouth. Gwen looked from Andi to to Himawari in shock.

“Andi-”

“Sorry, babe. I guess she figured it out.” Andi smirked, playfully resting a hand on Gwen’s. Gwen’s eyes widened even further, jaw dropped as she looked back and forth between her two roommates.

“Next time we don’t use the big-”

“Lalalalala! No more information please, I have a quiz in twenty minutes I do  _ not _ want that to distract me the entire time,” Himawari begged, pressing her hands against her ears.

* * *

 

It’d been three days since their fight against Jack when Gwen came skipping towards Andi in the library carrying a large blueprint with her.

“What’s this,” Andi asked confusedly.

“I have a plan to get Jack,” she explained excitedly, unfurling the blueprint on top of Andi’s study material.

“Nope. No thanks,” Andi shook her head, not even bothering to hear Gwen out. She’d already thought up a plan to get him on her own. She didn’t want to put Gwen in danger for her own gain anymore.

“What’s wrong,” Gwen asked confusedly.

“Gwen, you said it yourself. You almost died,” Andi whispered angrily.

“Okay, I’ll admit, I panicked a little after being shot for the first time. But now that I’m not hemorrhaging blood, I  _ know _ I was panicking. Just think about it- no one fridges female characters anymore. Fans got tired of that trope after watching Gwen Stacy die for the thirtieth time and now she’s Sp- uh… a superhero,” Gwen barely caught herself, still not wanting to put anyone, even to her own partner.

“I’ll do this myself,” Andi sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Okay, Thanos. That’s not how we’re gonna do this. If he almost killed one of us when there were  _ two  _ of us, how are you gonna do any better alone,” Gwen asked, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

“I’ll figure it out-”

“You’re not! That’s how. Now quit being dumb and listen to my plan. The reason why we lost is because we don’t have a tank,” Gwen explained casually, setting Andi’s books down on the corners of the blueprint to keep it from rolling up again.

“A S.H.I.E.L.D. installation,” Andi asked curiously, cocking her head as she reviewed the layout.

“Not just  _ any _ S.H.I.E.L.D. installation. This is the Raft,” Gwen explained with a smile.

“Gwen, I already hate this plan.”

“Just  _ listen _ okay? I’m an  _ amazing _ dps but you’re  _ also _ a dps. That’s why we’ve been losing. If we had a tank- someone who could take a bullet or two without taking too much damage- we’d be able to clean house with a ton of different kinds of bad guys.” Sometimes Andi wasn’t sure if she thought this universe was a comic book or a video game… or both.

“So you want to free a supervillain from the Raft to help us,” Andi asked incredulously.

“Not a supervillain. A friend,” Gwen corrected, smile wide on her face. She was just getting the hang of dramatic reveals, and the confused look on Andi’s face would make this reveal one she’d really enjoy.

“Who,” Andi asked with a sigh.

“Mania… We’re getting your symbiote back.”

* * *

 

Andi had desperately begged Gwen to see reason. The plan was too over the top, even for them. But she’d be lying if she said she didn’t miss her alien suit. The rush as the Klyntar ran over her skin, forming itself around her and giving her unbelievable power… But they hadn’t exactly ended their relationship on good terms. Mania had been terrified of her while she was possessed by the Hell-Mark and they’d both exacerbated the worst aspects of each other before Lee Price had separated them. Maybe reclaiming her symbiote was a bad idea…

_ “But she’s  _ my  _ symbiote… I should never have left her with him,” _ she berated herself, suiting up and following her teammate along on her wild plan. Gwen had pulled them from their dorm in Philadelphia through a panel of what she’d claimed was a DareDevil comic, but Andi didn’t see what some dive bar in the middle of Hell’s Kitchen had anything to do with the superhero. Getting from Hell’s Kitchen downtown seemed to take forever- Andi was suddenly really glad she didn’t have to take the congested subway system every day.

“This is insane,” Andi hissed, looking at the ridiculously formidable walls of the giant prison complex from the safety of Manhattan’s shore for the first time. It stood imposingly tall, only a couple of miles off the coast of NYC. Helicopters and Iron Legion drones hovered above the island, and dozens of heavily armored guards ran drills along the courtyard.

“Andi, this is the only way. It’s the eighth issue of our run together and you  _ still _ haven’t thought up a name. And  _ I _ haven’t been using the full range of my powers at all since we’ve been together, either. We get you your friend back and you’ll be so powered up, I’ll be able to use some of my cooler tricks without either of us overshadowing the other,” she explained. Gwen’s nonchalant referencing of her entire universe as a comic book still made her queasy, but she did her best to ignore those parts. 

“We’ll probably get to fight actual bad guys like Magneto or Ultron instead of struggling with C-list villains like Jack O’Lantern and Joystick,” Gwen couldn’t help but be excited. Teaming up with a symbiote might boost her popularity. It’d be almost impossible to cancel a teamup between  _ two _ popular heroes.

“Gwen… you’re crazy.” Andi shook her head, running her fingers through her hair. The idea seemed even more impossible with the prison in sight.

“Call me that again and I’ll tell you about Eternity,” Gwen warned, finally taking off her binoculars.

“Here’s the plan. Breaking  _ into  _ the Raft is gonna be a piece of cake. They’ve gotta let guards and bad guys in all the time. I steal a couple uniforms and you lead me in as your prisoner.”

“Gwen, I’m the one with the Hell-Mark, I’ll probably be a more convincing bad guy-”

“You’re also the one whose powers will be weakened by the bio-energy dampeners the second you step foot on the island.” Andi cocked her head at Gwen before sighing and kneeling down next to her. She’d never seen her friend serious about something like this before, and hearing how prepared Gwen was about her plan gave her the confidence she needed to put her complete trust in her.

“Anyway, I need you to get Mania off Price,” she explained, tapping Andi’s Hell-Mark.

“What about your powers,” Andi asked.

“I can’t  _ not  _ know I’m in a comic book unless they try to drug me like they do with the more powerful bad guys. As long as they think I’m just some Taskmaster ripoff they won’t treat me like I’m Graviton,” she explained, rechecking the list of the prisoners registered in the prison. Tons of names she knew and others she didn’t- most likely normal henchmen of the actual super-criminals they’d worked with. Guards probably paid the least amount of attention to those regular prisoners.

“So I bring you to a cell,” Andi asked, not sure what the next step could be.

“And you go to Price’s cell. I’ll break out and-”

“Gwen this is the  _ Raft _ , you can’t just-”

“I’ve broken out of cells before, Andi. I’ll show you my comic some time.” Again, Gwen’s confidence was unsettling.

“Ugh, I’d rather not…”

“I’ll go and get the second armor set we steal, then I’ll head to the control room and deactivate all the guards’ armor around Price’s cell and you get to work. When you’re done, I’ll activate Price’s electrical implant and open the cell door, you use some fire and get Mania off of him, meet me in the control room and I’ll slip us back to this exact location in a later panel.” Gwen finished up the plan with a smile, rolling the map of the prison back up into her shark backpack.

“You make it sound so easy… why do you look nervous,” Andi asked softly. She’d gotten to know Gwen after the months they’d spent together. There was a waver in her voice, a depth to her eyes that Andi knew were hiding something.

“Well, I could’ve explained all of this during a montage while we were in the prison…”

“But,” Andi pressed.

“Something’s gonna go wrong… and I don’t know what.”

“But don’t worry about it, it’ll probably be nothing!”


	9. Chapter 9

Andi had placed all her faith in Gwenpool’s planning. Despite being an important part of the plan, the entire thing was Gwen’s design and would only work if her partner was as resourceful as she said the “plot” would demand her to be. She really didn’t want to risk her freedom on luck, but it was all she had if she wanted to save her soul. Unfortunately no plan would ever be perfect.

“So who’s in the transport,” Andi asked curiously as her partner slipped into frame behind her. She’d gone ahead to scout the passengers in the transport and see how many guards and prisoners it was carrying.

“You’re probably not gonna like this,” Gwen started with a sigh, unbuckling her utility belt and leaving her weapons in a small hole in the sand Andi had prepared while she’d waited.

“What’s wrong,” Andi groaned exasperatedly.

“There’re four guards, two female, so we have enough armor, but there’s only  _ one _ female prisoner in the van… It’s Joystick.” Gwenpool rolled her eyes, sitting down next to her partner.

“How hasn’t she already been here,” Andi hissed confusedly. 

“We fought her weeks ago!”

“I guess they had to process her in Philadelphia before bringing her here. It’s fine, I can  _ definitely _ knock her out. She just might recover quickly. Puts us on a bit of a timer to get off the Raft, but it’s not like we were staying there long anyway,” Gwen said confidently, trying to get Andi to see the bright side of the situation.

“Hm… this is already getting dangerous,” she groaned, angrily punching the sand under her.

“You’re right, but as far as expectedly unexpected snafus go, this isn’t that bad.” Andi couldn’t help but glare at her friend, really wishing just for once she’d stop treating everything like a book and take it seriously. She rolled her eyes before continuing.

“Alright, Gwen. This first leg is all you and your weird comic-book powers,” she reminded her bitterly. The truck slowed as it reached the dock before grinding to a stop, kicking up dirt and sand around its military-grade treads. Two guards exited the front cab- one man and one woman, covered in bright blue armor sporting the name “Raft” on the back. Their helmets completely enveloped their heads, with a bright blue screen masking their face that Gwen stated acted as a heads-up display, relaying communication for all guards in the complex.

Gwenpool appeared behind the woman, silently creeping up on her before grabbing her and dragging her backwards out of the panel. Andi’s Hell-Mark was red hot on her chest as she threw the hardest punch she could muster, hitting the woman square in the gut and dropping her to her knees and knocking the wind out of her. Gwen fiddled with the back of her helmet for a second before the suit unlocked. Slipping the helmet off of the guard, Gwen smacked the woman on the side of the head with a rock, knocking her out cold before she could shout for help.

“See. Not too bad,” Gwenpool smirked, tossing Andi the helmet before moving on to undo the rest of the armor. Not a second late, Gwen managed to drop her friend off in panel just as the male guard reached the back of the truck. Andi nodded once before following the man’s lead, placing her hand inside the locking mechanism of the truck in unison. The laser lock scanned their wristbands before disengaging. The two guards inside the truck copied their motion, all four guards turning their handles in together to ensure the safety of everyone involved.

“All clear,” Andi’s partner asked the pair inside.

“Clear. Little agitation from the female enhanced. Says she saw someone spying in on the van,” the male guard explained, pointing over his shoulder at Joystick. She was seated towards the front of the truck, face covered in shadows. Andi couldn’t help but freeze, knowing the criminal had never seen her face hardly making her feel safe.

“She’s just stirring trouble,” her partner explained with a shrug.

“What I figured. Just wanted to report it.”

“Smart move. Prisoners, exit the transport,” her partner ordered. The prisoners got up and followed the command in a single file line, Andi’s partner pulling away to lead the criminals towards the boat they would take to reach the island. A quarter of the line had exited the truck before it was Andi’s turn to move. Holding her breath, she could do nothing but hope that Gwen would be able to pull this off without being spotted. She was about fifty steps away from the van when the male guard from the truck joined the line, and a hundred steps away when she heard a soft thump come from the van. She didn’t look back, hoping no one would call attention to the noise. Luckily the only response was the march of feet against the metal peer as the group boarded the boat. Andi didn’t look behind her until she was in her proper position, finally daring to catch Gwen’s eye. She was dressed in Joystick’s prison jumpsuit, complete with shackles, control collar and energy cuffs, but she looked… different. Something about the shape of her jaw was off, and even her hair and eye color had changed. Andi tried not to stare, but there was no way Gwen could’ve changed so much in just a few seconds, was there? Gwen boarded the boat last, standing up comically straight about a foot behind Andi.

“Uh, don’t stress out, but I just met myself from the future and… she gave me a glamour charm? So I’m guessing we’ll be totally safe now? And I’ll have to improvise getting that second armor suit-”

“Quiet, prisoner. Delgado, don’t be afraid to smack these enhanced guys around. Don’t let them intimidate you,” the other woman warned from her position on the boat.

“Right,” Andi replied, roughly slapping Gwen on the back of the head. The boat ride to the prison was uneventful, but the silence around them made Andi nervous. She occupied herself by looking down into the water, noticing large swarms of yellow and blue jellyfish floating along the river’s surface.

“Those things are genetically modified to produce a neurotoxin that can paralyze an Asgardian,” Gwen whispered, calmly looking down into the water as if she weren’t impersonating a prisoner. Andi did her best not to think about what would happen if their plan failed and they were captured. The boat ride lasted about fifteen minutes, passing through several checkpoints and barriers before they docked on the south side of the island. They exited the boat single file before entering one of the several large buildings scattered around the compound, shuffling slowly into the lobby. They were patted down again, three of the prisoners including Gwen had their vitals checked as well, ensuring that their powers were being properly dampened by the field surrounding the island. Andi could tell it was working, the Hell-Mark having always felt like a throbbing heat on her skin even while invisible suddenly felt far away, as if it were part of someone else. She hoped she’d still be able to summon the Hellfire she’d need for her leg of the plan. Once they’d finished being checked over, they waited in the lobby for… something. Minutes passed before a tall, buff woman entered the lobby, flexing her biceps as if she’d just finished her workout. She walked confidently without armor, as if she couldn’t possibly be bothered by even the worst these super-criminals could offer. 

“Prisoners! Welcome to the Raft. Better get comfortable, because you won’t be leaving.” Her voice was deep and carried far in the empty lobby. Andi’s mind clung to her every word, and she couldn’t help but feel that the woman might have powers of her own. She was followed by a smaller woman, covered in blue scales the shimmered a neon green when the light caught them at certain angles. She’d stopped about a foot behind the taller one, toothy grin wide on her face as her glowing green eyes glanced at all of the prisoners. Her every step seemed calculated, like a predator closing in on its prey. It made Andi shiver, and the rest of the guards seemed just as uncomfortable.

“I’m not here for any grandiose speeches. I’m not even here to intimidate you. I’m here to enforce the law. You break that law, I break you. You piss me off… I feed you to the rookie here. And a warning: every guard with powers on this rock is affected by the same power dampeners that are making you all pathetic weaklings. Keep that in mind if you ever decide to turn those off.” She eyed every prisoner individually, practically begging any of them to act out of line.

“We got a couple bitches for nannies? What is this, a slumber party?” One of the prisoners spat before laughing, getting a small laugh from the prisoners closest to him. The man was built like a brick, large and strong, his skin looked like living stone- one of the prisoners with powers that’d been tested twice to ensure he was safe. Two of the guards walked up to him, batons powered up and ready to administer some discipline before the large woman whistled, calling them off.

“Star? Care to show him what the nannies do to misbehaving children?” The lizard girl excitedly looked up to her partner before stalking forward towards the man, every movement she made feral and erratic- the hair on the back of Andi’s neck stood on end as she watched. The prisoner had about two feet and a hundred pounds on the girl but she didn’t even seem to notice. Clawed hands reached for him, tightly gripping the tough skin of his forearm. The scales of her hands shimmered and the man hissed in pain, his skin heating up before it blistered and boiled. He tried to pull away but she held on tight, yanking him off of his feet and onto his knees as if he were a child. A rough knee to the gut shattered the man’s toughened skin, cracking it like porcelain across his entire body and he howled in pain. Fear in his eyes, he wrenched his arm away and struggled to crawl away from the woman. Baring dozens of razor sharp teeth, she stalked on all fours towards him, claws piercing through the flesh and muscle of his thigh as she pulled him back towards her, maw wide open and-

“Enough.” Star stopped in her tracks before growling angrily, bounding on all fours back to the taller woman. She stood up, tall and proud, licking the blood off her claws as she shook herself off.

“Guards, take him to the infirmary before he bleeds out. Any of you other enhanced freaks wanna test either of us, or do we have an understanding?” The question was rhetorical, but she still looked to both of the enhanced prisoners.

“Nah, I’m good,” one of them said, a man whose icy hair had melted since he’d stepped foot on the Raft, water dripping down his face like sweat.

“No thanks. I’d like to go to my cell now,” Gwen smiled happily.

“Star, make sure the prisoners don’t give our guards too much trouble. If someone steps out of line, no one’s going to stop you if you decide to follow through,” the woman sighed before waving them off, heading back to the room she’d come from. Andi stuck close to Gwen, hoping that the creature wouldn’t find her or her friend too appetizing.

“Hey, Delgado, relax. I’m not gonna hurt you,” Star laughed, softly patting Andi on the shoulder. It would’ve been comforting if she wasn’t so terrifying.

“You guards gotta get used to me, alright? I know y’all aren’t too tight with S.H.I.E.L.D. but we gotta build some trust,” she pleaded. The guards all grunted roughly, not even bothering to make eye contact as they led the prisoners towards their cells.

“Alright, whatever. Be like that,” she sighed, smoke pouring from her nostrils. The guards all escorted their prisoners into their cells one by one, ensuring that each door was locked. The two supers were led to separate cells, reinforced glass domes whose doors were invisible until they opened. The man with ice powers was the first in his cell. His chart stated he was able to turn the water in the air to ice crystals, freezing someone’s lungs from the inside. It was clear he didn’t have much power at all while on the Raft.

“Prisoner 37728. Your cell’s complete with a dehumidifier. All water you get will come from us. Any escape attempts and UV rays will flood your cell, vaporizing any water you might be playing with in seconds. We keep those on too long it’ll get hot enough to cook you from the inside out. Got that,” Star read the specifications as if it were a new toy, cat-like eyes scanning over the paper she’d brought with her

“Sure,” the man nodded, eyes focused on his shoes. One of the guards removed his energy cuffs and tripled checked his control collar before giving a thumbs up.

“Get in there,” the guard commanded, pushing him forward into the cell. The hatch closed behind him, sealing 

“Prisoner 24602,” Star called, not even looking up from her chart.

“Huh- oh, that’s me,” Gwen took a step forward, looking at her cell.

“You start moving too fast your entire cell will fill with high density foam that’ll set denser than concrete in seconds. I’m supposed to tell you not to inhale when this happens, but let’s make sure it doesn’t,” she winked finally looking up from her chart before cocking her head confusedly at the Gwen.

“Wait… this is Joystick,” the lizard girl asked one of the guards confusedly.

“Yeah. Why,” he answered back roughly.

“She was taller. 5’8” or something, did none of you read my report,” she growled, tapping a button on her wristband as she tried to verify her notes.

“I’m taller in my boots,” Gwen provided, taking on a slightly harsher tone to mimic the other woman’s voice more closely.

“You didn’t have that accent either. And hazel eyes,” Star reached for her wristband again, the suspicion rising in her voice.

“Color contacts. You think I wanna be recognized? I wear a mask for a reason,” Gwen scoffed, rolling her eyes rebelliously.

“You smelled different too,” she hissed, sniffing the air intently as she tried to figure out what was wrong.

“I’m not a big fan of prison bathrooms. Now you wanna stand with me and keep playing Twenty Questions or can I get a head-start on the next three years of my life.” Gwen scoffed and walked into her cell without waiting for an answer, sitting on the bed and turning her back to the group. Andi watched her, surprised, confused, and thoroughly impressed. That’d been uncharacteristically convincing of her. Star rolled her eyes before following Gwen into her cell and taking the energy cuffs off of her before slamming the hatch to the cell shut.

“… guards, you’re dismissed, I guess.” The color faded from Andi’s face as the rest of the guards took their leave. She wanted to stay behind, still not too sure exactly  _ how _ Gwen would be able to escape from this kind of cell, but a quick wink from her partner put her at ease. She’d have to trust her. She threw one last look back at Gwen before making her way out of the building with the rest of the guards. Finally accessing the HUD in her helmet, she opened the map and plotted a course to the control room.

Gwen had explained her powers limited her to jumping to places that had already been featured in a comic panel. Even if she hadn’t seen them or been there before, as long as the place had been featured in a book, she could go there. But Gwen had wracked her brain for hours and hadn’t been able to remember a single panel featuring the Raft control room. However, if Andi got inside and looked around, the panel would pop into existence in her weird pocket dimension and she’d be able to travel to it. That was Andi’s first job.

She reached the control room without incident, and considered just breaking down the door. She tried to call on her Hell-Mark, managing to produce a small puff of smoke, but the strength that normally followed never came. There’d be no way she’d be able to slam through the heavily reinforced door designed to keep guys as strong as the Abomination out. She groaned, suddenly feeling the entire plan unravel at the seams.

“Delgado? Rachel, is that you,” came a soft voice over the intercom. Andi stood up straight and saluted, hoping to appear like any other guard. She had no idea what kind of person Rachel Delgado must’ve been like, and she did her best to try to seem as “normal” as possible.

“Give me a sec, I’ll open the door,” the voice answered before the door opened with a soft beep. Andi checked over her shoulder, making sure the hallway was clear before entering. She took a long look around the room, filled with a few dozen computer monitors that all fed information into the main platform.

“Rachel, you shouldn’t be here!” The voice belonged to a handsome man, strong jaw and broad-shouldered. He had rich, dark skin and toned arms that Andi never would’ve guessed would belong to someone who spent hours in front of a computer screen. His eyes were a deep blue and emitted a pale glow that seemed to hum like television static. Clearly someone else with powers that helped to keep the prison running. He blinked a few times, the rapid movements of his eyes slowing down before finally focusing on her with a coy smile.

“Rachel, we almost got caught last time. They need my eyes on the cameras at all times, someone could escape,” he explained breathlessly. Darker splotches across his neck and shoulders poorly hidden by his collar and undone tie caught Andi’s eye and she realized why the man had been so eager to open the door for her in the first place. Without responding, she slowly strolled over to the console, doing her best to look as alluring as possible despite her inherent awkwardness. Sitting down in front of his console, she leaned back and spread her legs, tracing a finger along the marks Rachel Delgado had made along his neck. The guard shivered in response, eyes lighting up in excitement.

“You brought me my dinner early,” he asked playfully, placing his large hands on her inner thighs. She could feel the blood rush to color her cheeks, eyes widening as he deftly undid the magnetic locks that kept her cuisses in place. They fell away, clanging to the ground and he leaned forward, pressing his lips against her crotch through her pants. Closing his eyes, he went on to continue undressing her as her heart hammered against her chest faster than she’d ever felt before. She gasped softly as she felt her pants come undone, quickly raising a shaky fist readying a punch she hoped would knock him out. Just as she did, Gwenpool dressed in a set of guard armor slipped into frame, cracking the man over the back of his head with her energy baton. Andi couldn’t see her face but she could  _ feel _ her friend’s mind struggling to pick the best quip for the situation

“Gwen, whatever you’re gonna say, please don’t,” Andi begged softly.

“Oh, but I  _ really _ wanna say it,” Gwen pleaded, bending over to collect her partner’s cuisses for her.

“I’ll make it my life’s mission to make sure you  _ never _ meet Valkyrie. Ever,” Andi warned.

“Oh, that’s low,” Gwen hissed, her hands on her hips in defeat.

“Fine. My lips are sealed. Now go get your friend back,” Gwen nodded towards the door before pulling the man’s body out of his seat to rest on the ground.

“What if she doesn’t want to come back,” Andi asked softly, the thought having weighed on her since Gwen had suggested to rescue her.

“Hey, don’t quit on me now, girl. This is  _ your  _ character arc. It’s gotta work,” Gwen playfully motioned blowing a kiss at her friend before waving her out the door.

“Wish me luck,” Andi sighed, adjusting her pants and armor for the last time before stepping out of the control room. Immediately, she bumped into two guards making their rounds and her heart sank.

“Oooh, Delgado! Fraternizing again,” the two guards teased before laughing loudly, one of them patting her roughly on the back.

“Do I have to make an appointment, or should I just find you after lunch,” one of them asked, getting another laugh from the group. Andi flipped them off, earning an even louder laugh from them before she pulled away from the group as they walked off, down a different path. She breathed a sigh of relief, sincerely hoping there’d be no more surprises. Reaching the elevator to the basement, she had to scan her wristband just to access the controls. Entering the lift, she took the time to quickly read through the specifications of the cell she’d be looking for.

The Maniac- Lee Price- was kept in the basement level of the facility, along with the rest of their highest security prisoners. Everyone who interacted with him had to be inoculated using Agent Anti-Venom’s antibodies to ensure they couldn’t be turned into his Inklings. His domed cell was larger than those of the other enhanced humans, allowing for the several kinds of contingencies in place should he try to escape. Sonic cannons modeled off of Black Bolt’s cosmically powerful voice were armed and ready at all times with the potential to fire loud enough they’d make a small earthquake. Napalm dispensers ready to coat the entirety of his cell in the vicious chemical. Thermite dust could be sprayed from microscopic ducts built into the floor lighting the very air on fire. Every individual seam in the cell was watertight and checked once a week, the dome itself was made of ballistic glass triple reinforced with a vibranium nano-weave and protected by a forcefield generator designed by Reed Richards which was standard issue for all of the stronger inmates of the Raft. The Klyntar wouldn’t be able to escape alone, let alone with her host. Price himself was drugged daily, a cocktail designed to inhibit anger and aggression, as well as outfitted with an implant in his spine that would block all electrical signals coming from his brain in the event of an escape attempt. There were also several contingencies about his containment that she was unable to access from her HUD at Delgado’s security clearance level. Andi read through the specifications of each contingency, thoroughly convinced there was no way even someone experienced with using a symbiote like Coach Thompson would be able to escape from this level of containment. 

“All this for  _ one _ guy… and these guys  _ still _ manage to break out,” she hissed sourly. She couldn’t remember the last time more than a month had passed between stories of Raft escapees hitting the headlines. A few minutes had passed since she’d entered the elevator, and the lengthy trip was starting to weigh on her. The temperature had dropped noticeably and she could feel the air grow heavier with each breath. Panic was just about to set in as the elevator rumbled to a stop, doors opening with a soft beep. The basement was enormous, essentially an underground auditorium filled with about twenty of the Raft’s most powerful super-criminals.

Morbius, The Living Vampire.

Lady Deathstrike.

Carrion.

Flux.

Shriek.

Kraven The Hunter.

_ Maniac. _

Lee Price was sitting on his bed, finishing the last of his lunch. His movements were slow and sluggish and he seemed pale and skinny, no longer the large, active man she remembered in her nightmares. However as worse for wear as he appeared, she almost shed a tear for her long-lost partner. The symbiote was still bonded to him, but even she seemed pale. Hardly covering Price’s skin, large swaths of his body would become exposed for a few seconds only to be covered in the thin, living fluid again as it struggled to maintain its form over its host. Andi could feel a writhing in her gut, a tickle in the back of her brain, like the echo of a whisper coming from the symbiote’s direction. Even after all this time, she was still connected to the symbiote, and she could feel its desperation in her heart.

“She’s dying…” Andi quietly walked to the cell, doing her best to keep out of sight of as many guards as she could without looking suspicious. There were two guards at Price’s cell, one on either side of the large dome, both armed with weapons Andi could only imagine were specifically tailored to hurt Mania.

“Didn’t realize you were interested in these supers, D,” one of the guards asked confusedly. Andi nodded her head a tear running down her face as she watched the symbiote congeal and melt away.

“This one’s got brainwashing powers. I hate that shit. Probably can’t do much of anything now. That alien’s been showing low vitals for weeks. Not much longer before it dies and we can move this freak in with the rest of gen pop,” the guard said hopefully, rolling his shoulders as he spoke.

“She…” Andi whispered, pressing her hand against the glass. She could feel the symbiote congealing as it recognized her presence, terrified of her but even more terrified of its own mortality. Small spindles grew out from Price’s body, reaching out towards Andi before melting away under their own weight like hot wax.

“Delgado, step away from the cell,” one of the guards warned, raising his weapon as he watched the symbiote react to her presence. An alarm began to blare before the hatch opened, every single contingency designed to contain the Maniac failing as one. Chucking her energy baton at the nearest guard, it shattered through the screen of his mask and knocked him unconscious. Picking up his gun, she kept the domed cell between herself and the remaining guard that was trying to cut her off. Concentrating as hard as she could, she stirred up the dregs of power her Hell-Mark provided and channeled it all into her legs, clearing the circumference of the dome faster than the guard could react and slamming into him hard enough to break his legs.

Lee took the opportunity to escape, desperately dashing out of his cell towards the elevator. Using the strength the symbiote provided he ripped the arm of a guard that’d tried to stop him clean off before pushing passed and running for the elevator. Andi was on his tail, dodging the hail of bullets aimed at them. Price slammed into the elevator door, frantically trying to wrench the door open. Andi weighed the options- open the elevator for Price, or stay in the basement and be riddled with bullets. Andi groaned, scanning her wristband and letting the man into the elevator as she followed behind him. The doors slammed shut just as the closest guards reached it, slamming their fists against them in defeat.

Price gasped for breath, leaning against the far wall of the elevator as he gathered his failing strength. Any kind of exertion was difficult for him and he hadn’t had the chance to stretch his legs or run in over a year. About a minute ticked by as he glared at Andi, trying to recognize her through the armor.

“You… the suit remembers you… I should kill you right now,” he hissed, clawed finger-tips growing like liquid wax from his hands as he pointed accusingly at her.

“You don’t have the balls,” Andi growled gun trained on him. This was the man that’d ripped the symbiote from her body, leaving her vulnerable and helpless. He’d stolen her friend and taken her for himself, and she wanted nothing more than to gouge his eyes out and feed them to him. Her Hell-Mark flickered on her chest, a faint ember that never even made it passed the fabric of her costume, let alone the armor plating of the guard uniform.

“It hates you, you know? It blamed you every minute we were in there. It’s terrified of you. If you came here to take it back you’re gonna be disappointed,” Price laughed cruelly, the symbiote swelling around his forearms, struggling to form the familiar, brutish muscles that the Maniac favored. Andi tore her helmet off and threw it aside, suddenly grateful to Gwen that the eyes of her costume so perfectly mimicked the design of her old friend. She reached out hopefully, trying to get the symbiote to rejoin her through will alone.

“Mania… please, girl,” she whispered, hand outstretched for her partner. Mania shivered, enveloping Price in a wave, but never moved towards her.

“Is that your plan? To beg! You’ve got no idea how much this thing hates you, do you?” Price roared, slamming his massive fist into Andi’s gut. The punch fractured one of her ribs and she fell to her knees in pain, clutching at her stomach. He followed up with a kick to her gut before slamming down on her back. The hit would’ve killed her if he’d been anywhere near his usual strength. Grabbing her by the chestplate, he dragged her back to her feet before lifting her off the ground. A wide, toothy smile formed across his face, long, prehensile tongue wrapping around her throat. She struggled to breathe, kicking weakly at his chest, but her Hell-Mark flickered weakly, the dampeners making it impossible for her to get the strength she needed to fend him off. Her head started to grow fuzzy as she struggled against him, and she hadn’t noticed the elevator grind to a halt and open its doors.

Star walked with confidence, holding a beaten and bloodied Gwen by the back of her costume like a ragdoll as she made her way towards the disturbance she was sure must be connected with this delinquent hero and missing Joystick. Behind her, a group of fifty armed guards followed, ready to open fire given the order. Her eyes flickered as the doors opened, processing the scene in less than a second.

“Maniac! Oh, I’ve always wanted to kick your ass,” Star roared, dropping Gwen and bounding towards the hulking man. Slamming into him, she knocked Andi out of his grasp and attempted to slash his back to ribbons, her claws catching on the thick tar of the symbiote. It sizzled and boiled and screamed in pain, jumping away from the heat of her razor sharp claws. Price responded with an uppercut that knocked the woman off her feet and slammed her head into the ceiling. Without missing a beat, the lizard girl breathed bright green fire that filled the elevator. Andi yelped, reflexively covering her face despite being fireproof.

Mania wasn’t as fireproof.

A hellish scream poured from dozens of toothy mouths that’d formed along the liquid skin of the symbiote. Like living ink, Mania dripped off of Price piece by piece, and then all at once, splashing onto the floor in its final death throes. Andi desperately reached out to her, clawing at the quickly evaporating dregs of black tar that was her dying partner. In seconds, she was gone. Price howled with laughter, dropping to his knees as they buckled underneath him.

“Looks like you’ve gotta move me to gen pop now, huh? I can finally get out of that fucking cell,” he spat bitterly.

“Oh, and your guard here’s a traitor. Wanted the suit. Looks like neither of us can have it now, though,” he laughed again watching as Andi grabbed at her head, sobbing over the loss of her partner. Star walked over to Andi, picking her up by the chestpiece of her armor. She seemed at least as strong as the Maniac had been himself, carrying her as if she weighed next to nothing.

“You’re those new heroes from Philadelphia… Thanks for saving me the trouble of having to track the two of you down,” she smirked, smoke pouring from her nostrils and making Andi cough.

“They wanted the suit. Broke their way in here impersonating Joystick and Delgado, and freed this Maniac to get it. Looks like there’s no more suit to steal though. Shame, I would’ve worn it myself if I had the chance. But maybe me and the Hot Topic look wasn’t meant to be?” She laughed and tossed Andi towards the guards. Landing next to Gwenpool, she clutched her side as her rib shifted in her chest. Her partner was a lot worse off than she’d expected, covered in burns, cuts and scrapes and bleeding from her nose and mouth.

“Your obnoxiously talkative partner will tell you all about how I kicked her ass when she wakes up,” the reptilian girl mocked, gently patting Andi on the cheek as she took her time to gloat. Finally rising to her feet, she walked back over to the elevator, grabbing Price by the front of his prison uniform.

“Guards, escort them to those cells they wanted so bad. That control collar is set for teleportation, but don’t be afraid to pump either of them full of tranq in case they’ve got more tricks. I’m taking Price- he’s still dangerous until we know that alien’s gone for good,” she explained, dragging the man to his feet.

“Yes, sir!” Two of the guards broke rank and walked towards the heroes, ready to apprehend them. Andi sighed and reached out for her friend, taking her hand in desperation.

“Gwenpool… it was cool working with you,” Andi coughed, clutching at her broken rib. She leaned her head back, bracing herself for the pain in her side as she’d be dragged to her feet by the guards.

“Famous last words, meet not-so-final confession,” Gwenpool whispered, using the last dregs of her energy to wrap her arms around Andi and roll out of the panel. Tranq guns already raised and fingers on the trigger, three darts pierced Gwen’s back as she slipped out of reality.

“Oh… well that’s not gonna look good on my report,” Star growled, arms crossed over her chest.

Falling through the Gutter, Andi could see dozens of pages flashing passed her head. Comic covers that read Amazing Fantasy or Tales to Astonish unraveled around her, flipping through hundreds of pages covered with dozens of panels each. They fluttered around her like fireflies on a warm summer’s night, spilling the tales of hundreds of heroes.

“Gwen, get me out of here,” Andi begged, but looking over to Gwen she noticed the tranquilizer darts in her back. She frantically pulled them out, but they’d done their job, her partner would be asleep for who knew how long. She’d have to find their way out on her own.

Andi started by looking for Gwen. She concentrated on that name and that name alone, finding dozens of covers of Spider-Man comics had answered her plea. They opened to hundreds of panels featuring Gwen without the pink highlights in her hair, laughing with a young, wiry boy with messy brown hair and glasses. Flipping through another comic, she saw pinkless Gwen playing the drums in a universe that seemed to be drawn entirely in watercolors. A final comic featured her friend being caught by Spider-Man, only to lie dead in his arms, the fall having snapped her spine.

“What… what happened to you,” Andi asked confusedly, looking over to her sleeping partner. This time she thought of her costume. White and pink, big boots and briefs, soft blush over her cheeks and toned legs that’d make anyone want to look twice. Opening her eyes, the first instance in existence reached out to her.

“Dead Gwenpool’s Secret Wars” covered the top of the page, while her friend lounged on an inflatable pool chair, a martini in one hand and her katana in another as thugs bled into the pool water on the bottom left corner. Andi flipped forward, finding Gwen chasing a duck man, guns blazing. Gwen pushing a HYDRA member into an incinerator and taking a selfie with a weird squid alien. Gwen watching helplessly as a boy in a skull t-shirt and trench coat was vaporized in front of her by M.O.D.O.K.

Andi searched through the line as far as it went, following her friend’s adventures. Fighting Thor, meeting Blade, befriending a pig wearing her costume. Andi confusedly stopped on a few panels of her fighting Terrible Eye and Spider-Man before skipping forward, watching her destroy a black suited version of herself.

“Thanks for reading. Now, if you’ll excuse me? Who said anything about being done?” Andi couldn’t help but shed a tear as she read through  _ The Unbelievable Gwenpool #25. _ Following the thread even further, she found Gwen’s West Coast Avengers adventures, flipping through entire issues at a time as she desperately tried to avoid the truly unbelievable amount of panels featuring her friend making out with Quentin Quire. This series seemed to end even quicker, and she fought to follow the thread through-

“Heroes After All #1. _ The Hellish Mania _ meets  _ The Unbelievable Gwenpool _ .” Andi’s hands shook as she reached for the comic. The cover featured Gwenpool playfully slashing her sword at the reader, while Maina- symbiote suit and all- held onto her friend by the back of her costume dragging her towards the KSU campus inked in the background. Opening to the first page, Andi could see herself, months in the past, casually sipping cherry soda on her way home with no idea of the events yet to come. She slowly flipped through each page, tears in her eyes as she read through the events of her life since she’d met her friend. In an instant, an idea dawned on her that she would’ve considered crazy- even by Gwen standards. Desperately she flipped through the pages as fast as she could, passing through more than a half dozen issues before finding herself and Price in the elevator, just a few pages in her past.

It felt like a lifetime ago.

Star’s green fire covered an entire panel, the sound effects of Mania’s pained scream superimposed over the art. Andi took a deep breath and reached inside, fingertips breaching the veil of the reality- of  _ her _ reality. Reaching through the bottom of the panel, just behind Price’s boots, she found a small drop of her partner and pulled as much of her out the past as she could. The symbiote was small and helpless, about a hundred milliliters of sentient alien ooze. She looked around terrified and confused before recognizing Andi and finally curling up in her hand like a small, liquid puppy. She was hurt, but she was  _ alive _ . Tears streamed down Andi’s face as she finally held her partner for the first time in what felt like forever.

“I missed you so much,” Andi whispered, tucking the symbiote away in one of the compartments of her armor. Grabbing Gwen’s wrist, she flipped back through the pages before finding their intended landing spot. An empty panel following the one right after they’d left for the Raft.

“It’ll probably be nothing,” in a bright pink text bubble hovered over Gwen’s head in the panel before it, the words still ringing in her head as if her partner had just said them. She did her best to push all the thoughts and paradoxes of time travel out of her mind and grabbed her friend’s wrist before jumping back into her reality- back home.

She landed on her side, shouting in pain as she hit the ground. It took a few moments for her to finally stand up, shaky legs lifting her up as she looked at the prison complex they’d just left, yet technically still hadn’t entered.

Within seconds, alarms began to blare, the Iron Legion concentrating above one area of the island. Andi didn’t have to wait around to see what it was that’d tripped the alarm. The answer slept quietly in her armor, reunited with her at last.


	10. Chapter 10

Andi dragged Gwenpool into the sewers, hiding in the only place she could from the police force currently swarming around downtown Manhattan searching for the escapees. Hours passed as she tended to Gwen and Mania, waiting for the sedatives to wear off and rouse the hero to bring them back home. Laying Gwen on her side, she positioned her friend’s head to rest in her lap, up off the ground and resigned herself to a long wait. She took the time to try to talk to the symbiote, to comfort and bond with her, but Mania was scared, confused and not at all ready for a new host. She shuddered in her hands, ripples cascading across her body.

“What were they doing to you,” Andi whispered softly as she pet her. She’d never seen a symbiote so weak and vulnerable- she hadn’t even known the creatures could be pushed so close to death in the first place. Hours slipped away as she caressed her partner, humming a tune her father used to sing to her. Late evening came before Gwen finally stirred, groaning loudly in pain as she woke up.

“Ow… owowowow,” she whined, her body on fire as each of her injuries jostled for attention. Scrapes, cuts, bruises- she was pretty sure there was a scale lodged in her shoulder from where the lizard girl had swatted her with her tail.

“Don’t get up too fast. That dragon chick kicked the crap out of you,” Andi warned, placing a comforting hand on Gwen’s shoulder.

“She was so strong,” Gwen whined, gingerly stretching her limbs. Minutes passed before she finally managed to gather herself, her mind sluggishly piecing together what’d happened before she was drugged.

“… Andi? How are we out of the Gutter,” she asked confusedly, absolutely certain that she’d passed out before even seeing her interdimensional safe-zone.

“Oh… I found  _ Heroes After All, _ ” Andi explained as she tried to push the memory of her time in The Gutter out of her mind.

“Andi… are you okay? You didn’t melt your brain in there, did you,” Gwen asked cautiously, nudging her friend as she tried to get her attention.

“I’m trying not to think about it,” Andi admitted with a shrug.

“You didn’t… see anything important in there did you? Secret identities or anything,” Gwen pressed her. She didn’t want Andi to be the start of some crossover event. If she knew too much, she could be in danger.

“No, I just found your stories and followed them here,” she said sincerely.

“You never told me you played the drums.”

“The drums- oh! Oh man, don’t tell me you opened those comics,” Gwen sighed, holding her face in her hands. She’d been thoroughly avoiding interacting with any version of Gwen Stacy- clones meeting each other normally didn’t go well and she’d hate to see what Gwen would think of her- but if Andi had found the Spider-Gwen line… it would only be a matter of time.

“Just a couple of them. Should I not have,” Andi asked confusedly. Knowing how to play the drums wasn’t exactly something she’d expect people to be embarrassed about having others know.

“I… I’ll tackle that character arc later. Did you get Mania,” Gwen finally asked, leaning in to tug on Andi’s costume, expecting the cloth to have been replaced by the living liquid of the symbiote suit. Andi lifted opened her hands, showing Gwen her old partner currently threading her way between her fingers.

“She’s so little,” Gwen gasped softly. She couldn’t actually remember having worn a symbiote- non-canon issues tended to erase themselves from her memory even if she could look back and read what’d happened to her in The Gutter- but she was positive that Klyntar were bigger than  _ this. _

“Yeah… She’s gonna need some time…” Andi tucked Mania back into her pocket before turning back to Gwen.

“Wanna go home? I’m  _ starving _ ,” Gwen said playfully, wiping dried blood off her arms.

“Can we call your doctor friend first? That lizard girl broke one of my ribs.” Andi was afraid of getting back up again, certain that the pain of her rib shifting around again would make her pass out.

“Oh, yeah good point. Hopefully she won’t mind the sewer smell,” Gwen said hopefully as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

* * *

 

“Ugh, I’m so frustrated,” Himawari growled, letting out her frustrations on her speedbag. Gwen and Andi watched with concern from their seats on the floor of the gym, far too sore to try working out after their narrow escape.

“My first real job and I blow it! I can’t believe how much of an idiot I am,” she spat, the rhythm of her knuckles hitting the leather drumming louder as she berated herself.

“Hey, uh… I don’t think you ever told us where you work,” Gwen said softly, nursing her rolled ankle with an ice pack.

“Gwen she told us she worked security the first week we met,” Andi sighed, playfully smacking her friend on the shoulder.

“Did she,” Gwen asked confusedly, looking to both of her roommates.

“Yeah, she definitely did,” Himawari smirked, speeding up her assault until the bag was hardly a blur. Gwen laughed softly, clutching at her side as she did so.

“What’s so funny,” Himawari asked distractedly.-

“You’re just so small,” Gwen teased. She was still almost positive their roommate was just an extra, and most other extras usually followed an average body plan to ease the inking process. Extras as tiny as their roommate were few and far between.

“Gwen, you’re pretty small too,” Andi reminded her.

“You’re not wrong, but at least I can reach my bunk without using the ladder,” she teased, a mischievous smirk on her face.

“Don’t be a jerk, Gwen,” Himawari whined, chucking her glove at the girl.

“You don’t have to be y’all to be a good security guard, just strong. You’ve seen me bench four plates,” she said proudly.

“Isn’t that like, less than half a ton,” Gwen asked, still not used to her friend’s jargon.

“It’s 225! That’s like double my body weight!”

“Black Widow can press 500,” Gwen said smugly, instantly met with another glove to the face.

“Black Widow spent  _ years _ being trained to be as strong as she is,” Himawari pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You guys are great, but I’m gonna head back to the dorm. I gotta check up on some stuff,” Andi explained, hoping that Gwen would get the hint. Mania had been growing a little restless in her pocket and needed…  _ something. _

“Remember what I said about the chocolate,” Gwen said, playfully chucking Himawari’s gloves back at her as Andi painfully got to her feet.

“Hey um… stop me if this is too personal, but did you two um… switch? Or something,” their roommate asked curiously.

“Yes we did! I’ll tell you all about it in  _ graphic _ detail,” Gwen said excitedly, happy to get back at her friend. 

“Goodbye!” Andi groaned, leaving the gym as quickly as she could. Stopping at the campus store, she picked up a dozen chocolate bars and a Red Bull before making her way back to her dorm. Gwen had explained that Klyntar metabolized a chemical in chocolate- how she knew this, Andi would’ve preferred she hadn’t asked. Opening the door, their dorm was dark and cool. Hopefully just how Mania would like it. The symbiote was squirming around in her hand, gnawing at the tips of her fingers in frustration. She was vulnerable and weak and still terrified of Andi and her Hell-Mark.

“I thought you’d gotten used to this, girl… It’s still me. Why are you so afraid,” Andi asked softly, breaking off a square of chocolate and offering it to the Klyntar. They hadn’t exactly had the  _ best _ relationship since the Hell-Mark had transferred from Mania to herself- the rage that came with it had fueled carnage even the symbiote couldn’t stomach- but they’d been through so much since then. Fighting the Poisons, helping Coach Thompson… Andi tried to rationalize it, but the longer her friend refused to eat the square of chocolate, the more isolated she felt.

“Why are you so afraid of me,” she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Uuuuuuuuuussssssssed meeeeeee.” Between a cough and a whimper, the Klyntar’s voice wavered and broke as it spoke.

“M- Mania I-”

“Uuuuuuuuusssssssssed meeeeeee. Huuuuuuuuurt meeeeeeeee. Abaaaandooooooned meeeee. Leeeeffffffft meeeeee tooooo diiiiiiieeee!” The alien’s skin turned to living razor wire. Claws and fangs tore into the skin of Andi’s palm, but she refused to drop the writhing creature.

“I- I didn’t… Mania you two were bonded, I-”

“Wooooould haaaaaave… leeeeeefffffft. Prrrrriiiiiiiiccccceeeee baaaaaad hooooooost. Woooooouuuuuld haaaaaave retuuuuuuurned.” She spoke as if she’d waited her whole life to say those words. To call Andi out on her negligence, to make her suffer as she’d suffered those long months on the Raft.

“I didn’t- I  _ couldn’t _ know! Mania, please,” she helped as she held onto the alien, it’s fangs tearing her hand to shreds. She felt terrible- she’d never considered saving Mania for its well-being. It’d only been about herself.

“Dooooooon’t… waaaaaant to be ussssssed.”

“Mania… I’m  _ so _ sorry I hurt you. I never meant to leave you behind, I- I messed up. I messed up and I’m so, so fucking sorry.” She begged the symbiote to forgive her. 

“Doooooon’t… trusssssst you.” Mania moved to the tips of Andi’s fingers, as far away from her as she could get. 

“You don’t have to trust me. You don’t even have to believe me! But you gotta let me help you.” Andi offered Mania the chocolate again, taking care not to let it touch the blood that’d been pooling in her palm. The symbiote finally crawled towards the square and took a bite of the candy before devouring it entirely.

“I’m gonna fix this. I promise I’m gonna fix this. I’m gonna make it up to you,” she whispered, feeding the symbiote another square of chocolate before wiping the last of her tears from her eyes. About an hour passed as she hand-fed Mania most of the chocolate bar. The symbiote definitely felt… heavier. But she couldn’t be too sure if the chocolate was actually working. Mania seemed to be enjoying herself, at least. There was a loud knock on the door followed by a few seconds of dramatic key fumbling before Gwen finally pushed it open. Andi closed her hand around the symbiote and hid it behind her back.

“Tell her what you did,” Himawari groaned, shoving her friend into their dorm. She looked to be on the verge of tears, hands on her hips as she lead Gwen into the room.

“Andi I’m so sorry, I didn’t-”

“Andi, dear. Love of my life. My moon and stars. Mjölnir to my Thor-”

“Gwen, I get it.” Andi rolled her eyes, seriously considering ending this whole dating charade.

“Can you please let our roommate know that I can kiss and be kissed by whoever I want,” Gwen said playfully, throwing an arm around Himawari’s shoulders, raised eyebrow and cocky grin painting a picture that Andi couldn’t help but laugh at.

“I’m so sorry Andi, she leaned in and I wasn’t paying attention, I promise I’ll never-“

“Himawari, you’re way too good for her,” Andi warned, playfully rolling her eyes at the pair.

“Jealous,” Gwen asked teasingly, tossing one of Himawari’s gloves at her. Andi reached up, snatching the glove out of the air before it hit her before realizing what she’d been holding on to. But instead of the small pool of tar, Mania had formed a glove around her hand, the familiar itch making her skin tingle as the symbiote healed the cuts she’d made in her palm.

“Thanks…”

* * *

 

“You can’t just break into top security prisons whenever you want, Andi,” Flash said firmly. He’d heard what’d happened and immediately knew who was at fault. He’d rushed back to Philadelphia as fast as he could intent on chewing her out. The thought of her having been caught on the Raft made him shudder- he’d heard more than his fair share of stories of what goes on in that prison. The prisoners that ended up there were the type of scum that usually deserved it, but someone like Andi- someone  _ good _ … she wouldn’t deserve what they’d do if they found out she was Hell-Marked.

“Coach-”

“Andi, that was a new level of stupid. What if you got caught? What if you’d let someone  _ out! _ ” The possibilities had run through his mind for hours on his travel to KSU. 

“Coach, I know. I know, I get it. Just-  _ look at her. _ ” Andi shoved her hand in his face, the black fingerless glove melting into a puddle of tar with a face on her palm. Flash eyed the symbiote, a look of concern on his face.

“... that’s Mania,” he asked, his voice softening just a touch.

“Yes! She was even smaller than this when we saved her,” Andi explained, squeezing her hand as a signal for Mania to resume her disguise.

“… they did that to her?” Flash had spent a long time as Agent Venom, and for all of the close calls and beatings he’d been through, he’d never seen a symbiote so injured.

“They were starving her for months. Then their dragon warden tried to incinerate her. She would’ve died!” Andi stood her ground. She wasn’t going to allow Coach Thompson to tell her what she did was wrong. She’d saved Mania- even if she hadn’t realized it- and she was glad she’d done it.

“I  _ saved _ her coach… and I’d do it again.” She crossed her arms, easily sliding into her “rebellious teen” mode. Flash looked to Andi to the glove he now understood was Mania. He’d come with an expectation to chew her out the way his own superiors had when he’d messed up. But time and again, Andi proved that she didn’t need the kind of direction he’d needed himself. Where he was stubborn, cocky and bullheaded, she was compassionate and resourceful. Maybe every bit as stubborn, but what teenager isn’t? He sighed, placing a comforting hand on Andi’s shoulder.

“Don’t… just be careful, okay? Don’t let that new partner of yours get you into trouble,” he warned her. He’d searched up Gwen Poole in his spare time and hadn’t come up with much. A BOLO in her name regarding some weird and unsanctioned alien activity with the NYPD. A triple homicide involving the murders of a few would-be bank robbers… Nothing good.

“Where is she anyway,” he asked, half expecting the girl to appear on cue.

“Oh. I tied her up and locked her in the closet so she wouldn’t bother us,” Andi said with a small smirk. Flash laughed, playfully ruffling her hair.

“Alright, Andi. Seriously, though… try to be more careful next time. Please?”

“I promise. Thanks for… thanks for understanding. I’ve… missed her so much… I was afraid to tell you…” She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight. She’d been dreading telling him what’d happened and afraid of what he’d do when he found out.

“I thought you’d think I was addicted or something like Brock, or something,” she admitted.

“Andi. If there’s anyone on the planet who’d understand what you’re feeling it’s me. You did the right thing I just… I just want you to be safe.” Flash hugged her back and they stood like that for a few moments. Andi was the best thing to have come from his time in Philadelphia, and he couldn’t be more proud of her.

“Th- thanks… thanks, coach.” Andi’s voice wavered, but didn’t crack this time. She finally pulled away from her coach before sitting on her bed.

“If you need something don’t be afraid to call,” Flash reminded her.

“Sure thing.” Andi waited until she was sure Coach Thompson had left the dorm hall before opening her closet. Gwen had been blindfolded, gagged, and cuffed to her desk chair, and had nothing to do but sit in silence while the heroes talked outside. Humming to herself she quickly undid the bindings before helping Gwen to her feet.

“You are… the  _ worst _ teammate…  _ ever _ ,” Gwen hissed, spitting the sock and had used to gag her out of her mouth as she glared daggers into her friend.

“That’s fair.”


	11. Chapter 11

“It’s getting bad out there,” Gwen sighed, wiping sweat off her brow as she walked into their dorm. Andi had been up all night working on a paper and had been benched until Mania was ready for action. Gwen had been trying to get a hold of the Jack O’Lantern situation for a week, but it was quickly spiraling out of control. People were being killed every night, entire apartment complexes had gone up in smoke. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been called in to try to get a handle on the situation but Jack was too erratic for them to predict.

“You’re not gonna like this,” Gwen sighed, wiping blood off her katanas before peeling herself out of the clothes she wore over her costume and tossing them on the bed. Her costume followed suit and Andi’s eyes drifted along Gwen’s back and legs before flicking back to her laptop. She was battered and bruised, but wasn’t hurt too bad- how she managed to get so lucky, Andi never understood.

“What is it,” Andi groaned. Bad news just kept coming and she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear any more of it.

“All those guys that were working with Lord Ogre… They’re with Jack now.” Gwen sighed as she wrapped herself in a towel and grabbed her shower supplies. She looked up with a shrug at her friend, not sure how to comfort her from the new information. Andi did her best not to scream- between Mania and the Hell-Mark, she  _ had _ to keep her cool. But  _ this _ was something she couldn’t accept.

“How?” Her eyes glowed softly, Mania squirming along her chest and back- the shirt disguise she’d taken up wavering as she felt the surge of emotion coming from her host.

“Well usually when you kill the leader of a criminal organization they just come back under new leadership. How do you think Hydra keeps coming back after the Avengers stopped Red Skull a dozen times? Baron Zemo, Baron Strucker, the half-dozen Madame Hydras… It’s not your fault if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s just how these things happen,” Gwen shrugged, tucking her guns into her shark backpack before walking towards the door.

“Andi? I don’t mean to rush you and Mania bonding or whatever, but this story arc isn’t gonna end without the two of us.” She opened the door as she spoke, eyes locked on Andi.

“It’s not like S.H.I.E.L.D. is gonna- Hey, Himawari!” Gwen quickly stood in front of their roommate, looking back over her shoulder to glare at Andi and point at the costume and swords she’d left on her bed. Andi quickly reached up to the top bunk and hid the costume under her sheets.

“Gwen, can I please come into my dorm. I  _ really _ don’t care about whatever things you were doing in here,” Himawari groaned, trying to push passed the girl. Gwen finally moved out of the way, allowing the girl to pass just as Andi finished hiding the last of the swords. With a last look over her shoulder, she walked towards the bathroom.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. is gonna what,” Himawari asked curiously as she peeled off her own clothes.

“Oh, um… We were talking about those murders that’re popping up,” Andi explained.

“With that Jack O’Lantern guy? God, can we talk about  _ anything _ else,” the girl groaned, stripping down to her underwear before climbing to her bed.

“Himawari, are you okay? Is that report you’re working on bumming you out?” Andi asked concernedly.

“Yes! He’s just- ugh! He’s always one step ahead and there’s no way to track what he’s doing until he does it! Ugh,  kare wa saiakudesu .” She angrily punched her pillow a few times before shoving her face into it and screaming. Andi wasn’t very good at the whole  _ feelings _ thing, but she couldn’t help but try.

“Hey… Your professor can’t expect you to follow a case like this so closely. Can they?” To be honest Andi had no idea what the criminology courses were like at KSU.

“Ugh… Andi, can I… Can I tell you a secret?” Himawari pulled her face out of her pillow and sat on her bed, legs crossed. The small girl was like night and day- in clothes she seemed petite and delicate, but out of them she seemed like a marble sculpture. Sunkissed skin stretched taught over wiry muscle, all that time in the gym not having been in vain.

“Yeah, always,” Andi replied softly.

“I’ve been… interning for S.H.I.E.L.D. for a few months now. That ‘security’ job I told you about was with them.”

“Oh, that’s… great. Isn’t that your plan?” Andi wasn’t too sure why that would’ve been a secret to begin with.

“Yeah, it is! It’s been great but… This Jack guy… Andi he’s killed so many people and if I can’t find out his pattern… this is my first real job and I can’t do it.” There were tears welling in her eyes as she spoke. She reached for her pillow again, clutching it close to her chest as she tried to squeeze the life out of it.

“Oh… Himawari… I didn’t realize that you were working on this case.” It all made sense to her now. How else could the girl have gotten such detailed information on the cases so soon after they reached the news?

“It’s fine, it’s not your fault. It was cool talking to you and Gwen about what was going on, but now… Ugh, he needs to be stopped  _ yesterday _ and I’m working as hard as I can to find his pattern but it’s been impossible.”

“The heroes couldn’t care less about us here in Philadelphia. They just stay in New York… even those two new girls were in Manhattan a few days ago breaking into the Raft. S.H.I.E.L.D. needs to make people feel safe! And I can’t even catch one guy in a dumb Halloween mask.”

“Have you considered… the guy is baiting someone?”

“I have! I looked through his old file, but get this! The last guy in that costume died. Deadpool killed him in Wakanda months ago! The only people he could be targeting as a copycat are Deadpool, King T’Challa, or Agent Anti-Venom- he had issues with that guy about a year ago. But they’re all in Manhattan or Wakanda. There’s no one here for him.”

“Looks like you’ve done a lot of research on this guy.”

“Yeah I went through his case file dozens of times. This copycat seems to know everything about him though. Probably an apprentice trying to follow in his footsteps or something.”

“Well-”

“Andi? Can you… can you not tell Gwen about this conversation?”

“Uh… sure? But why?”

“She’s  _ really _ into superheroes. And you’ve heard her talk about S.H.I.E.L.D. She doesn’t respect it. I’m just… uncomfortable with the idea of her knowing.”

Andi nods.

“Thanks, Andi. You’re really great to talk to about these things.” She sighs and hops off her bunk, grabbing her own shower caddy.

“Now if you’ll excuse me I’m gonna go join Gwen in the shower,” she sighs, grabbing her towel.

“I- I mean! I meant take my own separate shower! Not like- I didn’t mean I’m gonna shower  _ with _ Gwen just-”

“Have fun.”

* * *

 

“Andi? What are you doing?” Gwen had stumbled in on something she wasn’t entirely sure she’d been meant to see. Andi was suspended from the ceiling by a large wad of black goo, almost the consistency of gum. The was covered the entire back wall of their room as well as most of the ceiling and half of the floor. It wrapped long tendrils around Andi, pulling her in deeper as she fought to hold it at bay. Most people would probably run away and dial S.H.I.E.L.D. or something as quickly as they could, but Gwen simply locked the door behind herself and set her bag down at her computer desk, even as the tendrils snapped at her own wrists, threatening to swallow her as well.

“Gwen get  _ out _ of here,” Andi shouted, desperately trying to control the symbiote that threatened to swallow her and her friend whole. It refused to listen to a single command and had been fighting her for what felt like hours. She’d tried talking to it, begging it, punching it, and controlling it with small puffs of Hellfire, but Mania wouldn’t give up.

“Is Mania trying to take over your body or something?” Gwen playfully poked the symbiote with the end of a pen, curiously testing how it would react. Mania immediately snatched the pen out of her hand and whipped her wrist before retreating back to hold Andi.

“Yeah, she’s… fighting me!” Andi struggled to speak as Mania wrapped tendrils around her neck, threatening to force some down her throat as she spoke.

“Yeah, I kinda expected that.” Gwen took a step forward, softly nudging a tendril with the front of her sneaker.

“What!” Andi could hardly understand her friend during the best of circumstances. She wasn’t making any sense right now.

“Don’t worry about it, let me talk to her.” Gwen was cheerful as ever, casually walking up to Andi.

“Gwen, it’s taking everything I have for her not to jump on you right now!” Andi was clawing Mania back, trying to stop the symbiote from attacking her friend. It dragged her deeper into its mass, trying to swallow her whole even as it attempted to ensnare Gwen.

“Oh, don’t worry she won’t bond with me. I’d be way too OP with a symbiote, the readers wouldn’t like that,” she explained nonchalantly.

“What are you talking about!”

“Come on, just let me talk to her. You need to wrap this up before Himawari gets here,” Gwen groaned, stomping her foot exasperatedly.

“Gwen!”

“Andi. I have a project I need to finish by 12. I don’t have time for this.” She reached for her friend’s hands and took hold, Mania quickly engulfing her in its mass and swallowing them whole.

“Whoa… this is cool,” Gwen said curiously.She was floating around a dark, empty void, billions of black tendrils squirming over one another desperately reached out to her. Off in the distance, she could see Andi, bound, blinded and gagged by a few dozen of the same, thick tendrils that made up this place. Gwen shouted for her, but it was clear Andi couldn’t hear her as she struggled in vain. After a few moments, thousands of the black tendrils moved around her, forming a giant face with white eyes and a devilish grin. She swore she’d remembered seeing this exact scene in a Spider-Man cartoon.

“Oh. Hey, Mania. That  _ is _ you right?”

“Yessss.” Mania’s voice was like boiling molasses. Thick, smooth and everywhere. The tendrils moved at one to mimic Mania’s long jaw and tongue moving as it spoke.

“Right… well, if I can talk to you like this I guess you wanted to talk to me, too?” Gwen haphazardly swung her feet, the odd feeling of being suspended above a ground that didn’t exist making her a little uneasy.

“To sssaaaave me. Herooo.”

“Mania. Look. I know you’re afraid of Andi. But you’re definitely a thousand times more terrifying than a girl with fire breath could ever hope to be.” The whole situation just seemed ridiculous. An alien slime creature with super spider strength and a dozen other superpowers was scared of her friend- a girl who could hardly control the demons she  _ could _ summon, and Hellfire that didn’t do much more damage than regular fire.

“Queeeeen of Hell!” Tendrils wrapped around Gwen’s ankles, pulling her down into the dark abyss they hovered over.

“She’s  _ not _ a Queen of Hell, she’s just in the running,” Gwen explained as she tried to kick the tendrils off her legs. She wasn’t exactly a fan of the way Mania felt against her skin.

“She could never be Queen of Hell, just look at her. She’s way too edgy. Plus Mephisto always comes back whenever he dies.”

“The hatred in her heart-“

“She’s working on it, Mania! You gotta give her a chance. We almost got locked up in the Raft trying to free you! The very least you can do is acknowledge the fact that she cares!” There was a lot more emotion in that speech bubble than Gwen had intended there to be.

_ “The readers better be appreciating this.” _

“Don’t trusssst-”

“Mania. You’re a member of the team. Maybe you don’t trust Andi right now. You obviously trust me, right? You’re in my head right now the same way I’m in yours, you know how much I care, right?” Mania stayed quiet for a long while, the tendrils around Gwen’s ankles loosening their hold but still refusing to let go.

“Look. I know Andi. She feels bad about this whole thing. You’ve  _ gotta _ give her a chance. I promise if she goes full Hellspawn again I’ll rip you off of her myself.” It was big talk considering she was pretty sure she wouldn’t actually be able to do that.

“Fiiiiiine.” She was sure Mania didn’t breathe, but that sigh of relief seemed pretty realistic. The tendrils released their grasp and Gwen could feel herself floating back up to where she’d started.

“Now, just double-checking, you’re in my head right now, right?” There was an itch at the back of her mind, and she knew the symbiote was trying to get a read on her. 

“Yesss.”

“Okay, then you’ve seen a lot of things that you know need to be kept secret, right?” Gwen was stern and serious for the first time in a long time. She couldn’t be sure how much Mania knew, or how much the alien could make of it all, but any of that information getting into the wrong hands was dangerous.

“Beeeeeen... avooooidiiiing-”

“Well, that’s… good, I guess. But remember. If you know  _ anything, _ you need to keep it a secret, okay? Andi can’t know. I’m serious, Mania. Even if she asks you can’t-”

“I uuundeeeeerstaaaaand.”

Gwen fell on the linoleum flooring of their dorm, landing hard on her butt. Andi landed on all fours onto her bed before clutching at her chest, struggling to breathe. Except, it wasn’t  _ Andi _ . For the first time since she’d been sucked into the Marvel universe, Gwen was finally laying eyes on Mania. Her inhumanly wide mouth, sharp teeth and prehensile tongue, bright white spider contrasting harshly against the impossibly black living tar that made up the rest of the suit. She panted for a few moments, catching her breath before the tongue retracted and mouth sealed up, leaving a mask whose only features were its wide, white eyes ridiculously spiky anime hairdo.

“Andi. That you in there,” Gwen asked playfully, gently knocking on the spikes.

_ “They feel just like hair… That’s not what I expected at all!” _

“Yeah… yeah, I’m here.” Andi’s voice was still weak and shaky as she collected herself, having been fighting for her life only a few moments ago.

“What did you tell her,” she asked softly.

“Oh, that she can trust you and that I’d kick your ass if you ever took advantage of her. Regular hero stuff,” Gwen explained with a shrug. She walked over to her friend, placing a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. The thin membrane that covered Andi was warm to the touch and no longer tried to snap at her.

“Gwen?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you,” Andi wrapped her arms around her friend, squeezing her in a tight hug. Gwen was getting ready to give some quip before she heard a key fitting into the lock in their door. The alien symbiote retracted, forming a loose fitting shirt and shorts as Himawari entered the room.

“Oh! Himawari! Uh, we were just...” Andi fumbled for an explanation as she let Gwen go, not too used to openly displaying affection.

“Nope, don’t stop because of me,” she replied playfully, climbing up to her top bunk but keeping a mischievous eye on her roommates.

* * *

“Gwen, why are we doing this,” Mania groaned, squatting next to her friend on the rooftop of a building in Center City. Gwen had insisted they spend at least one night ‘on patrol’ as she got used to her symbiote suit again. She hated the idea, but decided spending a night getting some fresh air with Mania wouldn’t be the worst way to waste time.

“First of all, it’s Gwenpool when I’m in the mask. Second, Mania, I know I’m super carefree and exciting, but if I’m being honest, I’d rather not be shot again,” Gwenpool explained casually, using a pair of binoculars to watch groups of people crowd the street down below. Center City was always full of tourists and other people enjoying the nightlife, but the crowded streets were no match for Time Square’s swarming mass of thousands. She was able to keep her eye on the hundreds of groups of people that weaved their way through the streets and make sure nothing too fishy was going on.

“I need you in tip top shape if we’re gonna take down Jack and his gang.” She didn’t look up from her spying but Andi understood the unspoken intention of her words.

“You don’t trust me.” Mania crossed her arms, more frustrated than she was surprised. Getting Mania had been Gwen’s idea- hell,  _ being superheroes _ had been Gwen’s idea. Now she was gonna doubt her?

“I don’t trust how rocky your relationship with Mania is right now. For all I know you breathe a little fire and she jumps right off of you.” Gwen wanted to soften the blow with a quip, but something had caught her eye down in the crowd.

“Gwen, that’s not how it-“

“Hush, hush! Look, down on that corner,” Gwenpool tried to hand her partner her binoculars, but Mania’s enhanced senses were sharp enough to see the scene without them. Three men in pumpkin masks were dragging a woman into a windowless van. She was flailing weakly, mouth already gagged to prevent her from screaming. No one was even bothering to try to stop them.

“Lord Ogre’s crew have been starting up their old human trafficking ring. They grab tourists too wasted to fight back,” Gwen explained. A dozen emotions ran through Andi’s mind, most not good. But it was impossible to ignore someone in need of help like that. She aimed a hand at the van, ready to shoot some webbing at their tires to keep them from getting away, but Gwenpool grabbed her wrist, shaking her head.

“Gwen, we-“

“I know. We will. But we’ve gotta tail them first. We gotta find where they bring the victims.” Gwen’s voice was soft and serious, and Mania cocked her head at her. She wasn’t used to this side of her friend. The determined, focused woman that spoke like a seasoned hero. It made her feel new to this even though she’d been in dozens of fights before.

“Come on, we gotta follow them,” Gwenpool tapped her friend’s shoulder. Mania looked her friend head to toe one last time before wrapping an arm around her and swinging after the speeding van. They followed the vehicle for a few miles, leaving the tall buildings of Center City behind for the shorter, more level buildings of South Philadelphia West. Without the advantage of the tall buildings to swing from, Mania had to rely on her athletics to get her from rooftop to rooftop. Every jump she cast a glance back to Gwenpool who was surprisingly keeping pace, matching her flips, vaults and rolls with practiced ease.

“They’re slowing down,” Gwenpool commented, stopping on the rooftop across the street from the building the van finally came to rest at. Two more men in pumpkin masks came out and dragged the girl out of the van before carrying her into the warehouse.

“There’s probably a ton of people in that warehouse. We start fighting the bad guys and they’ll use them as hostages,” Gwenpool explained, rummaging through her shark backpack.

“So what’s your plan,” Mania asked curiously. Hurting people was easy. Saving people that were in danger… not so much.

“Stealth mission. You stay high, I stay low,” Gwen fitted silencers onto her pistols and tightened her gloves, readying herself for what would come.

“We take out as many guys as we can, fight whoever’s left, save the victims, and then you buy me a Philly cheesesteak,” she explained.

“Why do you need a cheesesteak?”

“I didn’t eat lunch, I’m starving.” Gwenpool smiled before taking a deep, steadying breath. She really wanted this mission to go well. It’d be their first outing together and would be a useful gauge as to whether or not they’d be able to take Jack O’Lantern without too much trouble.

“You sneak in first. I’ll be right behind you. Make sure you don’t get spotted.”

“I’m not the one wearing pink and white,” Mania pointed out as she fired a line of webbing across the street to stick to the side of the warehouse. She secured it to the weathered concrete in front of her before testing the line. She balanced her weight on one foot then the other before running along the thin line as easily as if she were running on a treadmill, the heightened sense of balance the symbiote gave her was incredible.

With a flip she cleared the side of the warehouse and landed quietly on the roof. There was only one guard, his pumpkin mask and gun resting at his feet as he stuffed his mouth with fries. Staring off in the distance, Mania couldn’t tell if he was either really bad at his job, or on break. She put him down with a strike to the back of the head, a move Coach Thompson had shown her to stop things from getting too… cannibalistic. She then dragged him into the shadows in case anyone came looking for him before finding her way inside the building. Sticking to the ceiling, she was more than silent. The symbiote muffled every sound as she explored the warehouse, mapping the layout in her mind as quickly as she could.

The men had come through a back door and were dragging their victim to one of several storage closets. They were locked from the outside, a heavy padlock keeping the door in place with only a small slit cut under the door to allow food and water through. Mania couldn’t hear the prisoners, but she could smell them. They likely hadn’t been allowed to bathe in weeks. She watched as they unlocked a room seemingly at random and tossed the woman inside before locking the door again. It made her sick to her stomach.

Gwen seemed to teleport to the floor beneath her, looking up to her with a quick wave. Mania dropped down from the ceiling, landing quietly on the balls of her feet. The superhuman agility easily one of her favorite powers the symbiote granted her.

“I took down the guards outside. One of them was wearing a headpiece so we need to do this fast before the guys in here realize what happened.” Gwenpool’s white gloves were stained with a few specks of blood and Mania hoped her friend hadn’t taken it upon herself to turn this into a ‘killing allowed’ kind of mission.

“I don’t like this,” Mania groaned before leaping back to the ceiling and landing on all fours.

“Could be worse,” Gwenpool whispered with a shrug, and Andi did her best not to imagine what her friend could possibly have meant by that.

Gwenpool was surprisingly sneaky when she needed to be. She quietly tiptoed behind guards and shot them with a dart gun she’d brought in her shark backpack, or knocked them out with the handle of her katana. Two, four, seven guards were knocked out and dragged into dark corners of the warehouse. All the while Mania worked on her own guards. The symbiote dangled long, sticky tendrils above their unsuspecting victims before ensnaring them by the neck and pulling them up to her. The organic webbing gagged them and stuck them to the ceiling, out of sight and out of mind.

“I don’t see anyone else,” Gwenpool whispered as Mania slid down from the ceiling on a tendril.

“Yeah, it looks like we got them all. Should I call the police?”

“Ugh… I really don’t want to but I think that’s the smart option. The heroes almost never handle these kids of victims directly unless one of them knows something. I’ll call them, just give me a sec before you start popping the locks.”

Mania sighed and used her enhanced strength to snap the padlocks off the doors. One by one, the heroes opened the doors to scenes more horrid than the last. People had been locked in these rooms for weeks, just a bucket in the corner as a toilet with whatever food the guards decided to put together for them. They were starving, dehydrated and sick. Mania froze, unable to process the terrible conditions.

“Hello, everyone! My name is Gwenpool, this is my friend Mania. We’re heroes-”

“You guys found my little side-business.”

“THE DOORS!” Gwenpool shut the door nearest to her before jumping out of the way of a hail of bullets. Mania used her tendrils to slam the other three shut, not bothering to move out of the way.

“Oh, that’s new. Where’d you get that new costume from? Wait, don’t tell me, I’ll just peel it off of you and read the tag,” Jack steered his broomstick right into Mania’s chest, the spearlike tip piercing her chest and pinning her to the wall. She screamed in agony, sharp teeth and long tongue glistening under the dim warehouse light. But she was alive- as durable as the symbiote she wore.

“Still alive? Oh this is gonna be fun!” Jack pulled out a knife, ready to start carving before Gwenpool opened fire, unloading her whole magazine as the victims screamed in terror in their cells. Two bullets struck his back and were caught in whatever armor her wore, while the rest peppered the wall.

“And you brought your other half. You’ve been killing my friends for days, bitch. Mind telling me how someone with aim as shitty as yours has been haunting my guys?” He hopped off his broomstick, casually strolling towards Gwenpool. He wasn’t at all intimidated by her obvious lack of skill or training. Instead, he found her amusing. Someone so obviously out of her league yet so dangerously determined. Well, dangerous for herself…

“Wasn’t aiming for you, Sleepy Hollow.” Gwen wanted to pat herself on the back for that one.

“Is this where I’m supposed to turn around and notice you shot the engine of my broomstick,” he taunted, closing in on her with his razor sharp knife ready to slice her skin to ribbons.

“Something like that.” Gwenpool jumped out of the way as Mania smashed Jack’s pumpkin helmet with his own broomstick, driving him to his knees. The hero bashed him again, eyes wide and alien maw open wide as she struck the man that’d killed her father.

“Aw, no quip,” Gwenpool asked disappointedly before jumping away as Jack drew his own guns.

“Now it’s a party,” Jack laughed, firing at the heroes. Mania’s suit absorbed the bullets, spitting them out like pebbles. Gwen was a little less durable, choosing to hide behind a stack of large boxes as the bullets whizzed passed her. Mania took the opportunity to tackle Jack from behind, slamming him to the ground and clawing at the back of his head.

“I’m gonna have so much fun putting you back in the dirt,” she hissed, Hell-Mark burning itself into the spider pattern on her chest. Her rage was burning in her heart, desperate to tear the man that’d killed her father apart. But she held on to her senses, fighting the effects of the Mark as desperately as she fought the man beneath her. She didn’t want to disappoint Mania. She was concentrating on keeping her anger at bay so hard, she hadn’t noticed three robots zipping through the warehouse until they’d bashed into her, knocking her off the man and into the brick wall.

“Icky, gooey cwazy girl!” They clawed at the hero, sharp claws shredding through the symbiote and slicing her flesh before the suit sealed itself over the wounds. It gave Jack the time he needed to recover and empty another clip into her. Her bond with the symbiote was still weak, and Mania was still recovering from being pushed so close to death only a week ago. Every bullet against her chest and face felt like being struck with a baseball, her body bruising under the thin layer of tar as the symbiote struggled to protect her from the assault.

“Did you forget I fought your daddy? He was way more fun than you,” Jack laughed, quickly changing target to her knees. The bone shattered, her symbiote unable to compensate in time and she was forced to the ground. She roared in pain, clutching at her leg as another bullet struck her in the shoulder and the robots continued to claw at her face and back.

“Go on, heal! I’m not done with you yet,” he laughed, finger on the trigger as he watched the symbiote squirm over her skin. The alien was spread so thin over her that small openings were beginning to appear for the quickest of moments before being sealed back up. He watched as one appeared on her shoulder before pulling the trigger again.

The bullet collided in midair and the ricochet drove it into one of the robots. Gwenpool changed targets, firing on Jack and forcing him away from her partner.

“My turn.” The hero tossed a knife at him, the blade grazing his leg as he jumped out of the way. She followed with three bullets aimed at his chest that forced him to take cover behind a stack of boxes.

“Mania, you okay,” she asked concerned. It wasn’t often a member of the Venom family was brought down by regular firearms.

“Watch out,” Mania threw herself in front of her partner as a pumpkin bomb landed at her feet, the acid eating away at the symbiote before she’d had much chance to recover. She hissed in pain, her skin own skin burning compounding with the pain Mania felt as the acid ate away at her body.

“Do you have  _ any _ idea how outmatched you two are,” Jack asked with a laugh, charred skin cracking as he smiled wide.

“I’m the world’s greatest assassin. Neither of you are getting out of this alive, and when I get that suit off your friend I’ll- OW,” he shouted, ducking back into cover as Gwen’s bullet grazed his shoulder.

“I don’t think Taskmaster would like you calling yourself that,” Gwenpool taunted, leaving her friend behind and approaching Jack’s hiding spot. She could see a blood splatter from where her bullet had struck him at the top of the stack of boxes.

_ “Make sure you attack on his right side, that shoulder is hurt,”  _  she thought to herself, forming a quick plan on how she’d subdue the man without killing him. Andi had to be the one to do that. With a quick slash of her sword she rounded the corner, but Jack wasn’t there. A sharp pain down her back made her scream in pain and severed the straps of her shark backpack. She spun around, trying to slash back at him but a kick to the back of her knee knocked her down, her gun pinned underneath her body. Jack stomped on her free wrist, leaving her unable to slash back at him.

“This wasn’t even fun. You’re going to die now. And then I’m going to peel your little girlfriend out from under that suit, and I’m going to torture her for as long as I like.” Jack smiled wide, playfully choosing his target. Heart? Face? Stomach? The explosion that tore through the building nearly knocked him off his feet.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. Freeze!” About two dozen agents poured into the warehouse, coming from seemingly everywhere. They swung in from the windows, rappelled down from the roof and blew open the doors, forming a perimeter along the warehouse to ensure they wouldn’t be able to escape.

“No! No, I’m never going back,” Jack screamed, firing wildly and hitting several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in weak points in their armor, killing and wounding them as he fought to make his way to his broomstick. None of the three had seen the woman they’d brought with them until it was too late.

Jack was lifted off his feet and ruthlessly slammed into a stack of boxes by the creature. Dark blue scales absorbed most of the dim light, making the monster almost invisible besides a dull green glow that radiated from her claws, eyes and mouth. She held his throat in one clawed hand, lifting him off his feet and choking him mercilessly. She stripped him of his weapons and jabbed him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him until her gurgled helplessly in her hold.

“You’re under arrest, you piece of shit” she growled, scowling at the man as he lost consciousness. She waited until he’d stopped kicking before turning her head to see who he’d been fighting.

“YOU,” she roared, green eyes glowing even more intensely as she recognized Gwenpool.

“Uh, do I know you,” Gwen asked curiously. There were a ton or reptilian people in Marvel, but the only one that came to mind at the moment was normally in a lab coat.

“From the Raft! You- I’m going to kill you,” she creature hissed, tossing Jack aside and bounding on all fours to Gwenpool. Crashing into the hero, she sent her sprawling into the brick wall of the warehouse.

“Oh yeah. That was like two issues ago, what are you doing in Phila- whoa!” Gwenpool rolled out of the way, sharp claws threatening to rip her to pieces.

“Hold still,” the monster shouted, reflexes sharp enough to grab Gwen’s ankle as she jumped away and slammed her back to the ground. Gwenpool lurched to one side as the creature slammed its fists down where her chest was only a moment ago, and desperately tried to crawl into the Gutter to a safer panel. She’d almost escaped into her subspace before the creature grabbed her ankle again and dragged her back into the panel.

“You’re not teleporting on me again,” she hissed grabbing Gwenpool’s throat as roughly as she had Jack’s.

“Leave her alone,” Mania hissed, dodging bullets from the few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents left as she tackled the monster, knocking her off her partner. They wrestled on the ground for a few moments, Mania using her enhanced strength and tendrils to wrap herself around the stronger woman and pin her to the ground. The lizard woman kicked up into Mania’s chest and stomach with her powerful hind legs, sharp claws heating up and tearing into the symbiote as she fought to get it off of her.

“Mania, we’re here for Jack,” Gwenpool shouted through a cough, gingerly rubbing her neck as she got back to her feet. She could see him stirring as he woke up, but was pinned down by the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent’s cover fire.

“You’re not going anywhere,” the woman roared, green fire pouring from her mouth and engulfing Mania. The symbiote screamed in pain, the fireproofing Andi’s Hell-Mark provided not entirely transferable through their weak bond. Andi dug deep and responded with her own roar of fire, green and red flames meeting for a moment before a large explosion sent both women flying in opposite directions.

Andi landed relatively painlessly on a bag of concrete mix before struggling to her feet, Mania loosely clinging to her. She willed the symbiote to take shape, morphing into razor sharp teeth and claws as her Hell-Mark burned itself onto her chest. Her long tongue whipped from side to side as the reptilian woman kicked the rubble off herself and got to her feet without a scratch. Mania stood her ground, ready to fight before Gwenpool shouted for her attention.

“Mania! Get Jack!”

“You’re dead,” the lizard woman shouted bounding on all fours as fast as she could towards Mania. She pounced, teeth bared as she tried to land on Mania before slamming face first into the border of the Gutter. She roared in pain, clutching at her face as she shook herself off.

“Mania, now,” Gwenpool shouted, tossing a flash bang at the woman from the backpack she’d recovered. The reptilian woman hissed as it detonated, shielding her eyes with her hands as Andi leaped from broken shelf, to stack of boxes, to pile of rubble, dodging bullets as she made her way to Jack.

The woman turned her attention to Gwenpool, eyes burning an even brighter green as she breathed a torrent of fire in her direction. She was forced to take cover behind a broken slab of concrete, the flames singeing her costume and cracking the material.

“You three are going back to the fucking Raft,” she roared, turning her attention to Andi just in time to watch the woman shove a clawed hand through Jack’s chest.

“See you… in Hell,” Jack smiled, blood pouring from his mouth as he gave one last wheezing chuckle before he collapsed.

“YOU BASTARD,” the monster roared, bounding towards Mania. Smoke poured from her nostrils, eyes glowing an intense green as she closed in on Mania. Andi prepared herself, her knee still aching, body entirely sore, and symbiote hardly holding together as she waited for the monster’s assault.

“We’ve gotta go,” Gwenpool sighed, a hand on her friend’s shoulder as she tugged them into the Gutter. The monster reached out, desperation on her face as she tried to grab on to the two women, but in an instant they were gone.

“I can’t fucking believe this,” she hissed, angrily kicking a bag of concrete mix so hard it exploded against the brick wall of the warehouse.

“Get the fucking hostages out of here. I’ll handle the body,” she commanded, seething with rage at her defeat.


	12. Chapter 12

S.H.I.E.L.D. demanded the most of a person, no matter the assignment. The second a person became a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent they’d essentially signed their life away for the betterment and protection of humanity. It was a noble cause- and its members lived it every day.

The lizard woman known as MonStar was no exception.

“Ugh, when are you gonna let me  _ out _ !” She slammed her fists down on the metal table in front of her, emphasizing her desperation.

“I’ve been locked up for decades now! At the Raft, babysitting bad guys, keeping the base safe while S.H.I.E.L.D.’s other agents go out and have fun. Agent Barton is literally just a guy with a bow. I could protect way more people than he could,” she crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes as she spoke. She held no animosity towards Hawkeye or any other agent. She just wished she’d get the opportunity to explore the world around her with her own eyes.

“Star, you know that’s not fair.” Dark suits and ties, her handlers were the stereotypical men in black of Hollywood. They were part of a special division of S.H.I.E.L.D. A small, specialized division created to train superpowered individuals like herself to become agents  _ and _ heroes. Agent Doyle was quiet and reserved, his tie complementing his olive skin. Agent Kimball was more passionate with her job, curly hair up in a bun as she raised an eyebrow at her charge’s outburst.

“I know… I just… I’m reaching the end of my limit here guys. You finally let me out to go catch this Jack guy and I failed. I… give me a second chance.” She looked to Kimball first, then Doyle, hoping to see any emotion behind their dark shades.

“I don’t want to be locked away for another two years of training while you decide if I’m even worth having in the field. Let me prove it.”

“You know your deployment has risks-“

“Yes, I  _ know _ ! I’m a walking, talking radioactive dragon. I’m gonna scare the public, my powers can hurt people, everyone’s afraid I might turn into a nuke, yadda yadda. Guys, no one was hurt on my last mission. Well, like, besides Jack, but I didn’t do that. I didn’t even hurt that Price asshole when he tried to escape the Raft, or that gross gamma dude- what was his name, Flush-“

“ _ Flux _ !” Agent Kimball had heard MonStar tell the joke too many times to let her get away with it again.

“Exactly! I didn’t even hurt  _ him _ and he made it really damn hard,” she explained, raspy voice begging to be considered.

“You reported that the fight was easier than we predicted it would be for you,” Agent Doyle reminded her, a small smirk forming behind his steepled hands.

“The point is that I’m ready, guys! You’ve gotta give me a chance. I swear if you don’t I’ll egg Director Fury’s car or something.” The two handlers stared at each other for a long time, somehow able to read each other’s expression under the dark shades that obscured their eyes.

“Star… if we allow this, you’ll be even more heavily monitored-“

“That’s fine! You guys have monitored my whole life  _ anyway, _ it’s not like you’re gonna lock me up like you did when I hit puberty.” She locked eyes with one agent and then the other, knowing that they still felt some regret for what they’d had to do to help control her rather violent introduction into womanhood.

“Please don’t make this conversation more uncomfortable than it has to be,” Doyle requested.

“Whatever. Just say yes. Come on, I know you two want me to succeed just as much as I do,” she begged, razor sharp fangs gleaming as she smiled as wide as she could.

“We wouldn’t be able to station you to New York. The situation way too volatile.” Kimball explained, doing her best not to catch her partner’s eye. They’d talk about it later.

“Ugh! Fine, I don’t care! Put me in Philly! There’re no heroes there and a huge increase in crime.” It’d been her dream to start in NYC, but getting stationed at all was more important to her now than sticking it to all the vigilante heroes in the Big Apple.

“There are those two enhanced females you’ve already had run-ins with,” Doyle reminded her, a lot more supportive of this plan than she’d thought he’d be.

“They’re not heroes. I watched one use the symbiote she stole from the Raft and put her arm through Jack’s chest. The guy’s a piece of garbage but he was defenseless, unenhanced and unarmed. No one deserves that.” The memory of what she’d witnessed made her scales heat up in anger, glowing a soft green. She just didn’t understand it. The duo had been helpful at first and she’d even considered they could be allies if they’d consider joining S.H.I.E.L.D. Now they were proving exactly why these unregistered and unregulated vigilantes were so dangerous- they were unpredictable.

“Are you saying you’ll bring them in,” Kimball asked interestedly. The proposition was all but impossible in NYC. There were so many heroes and they often defended each other, trying to capture one would result in a half dozen of their friends barging into every base in the area. But here, where these two upstarts were the only two of their kind, they might be able to bring them in as potential Thunderbolt recruits.

“They both broke into the Raft and freed the symbiote. That’s crime enough to get locked  _ in _ the Raft. If they get in my way, they’re finished.” She’d studied the symbiote’s specs- she was confident she’d be able to take it down regardless of who was using it. The pink ghost woman was more of a problem. She definitely wasn’t physically enhanced, but whatever powers she did have included teleportation and she’d proven difficult to restrain for long… but not impossible.

“Okay. We’ll have to get this cleared with- whoa!” Doyle yelped as superhumanly strong arms wrapped around him and his partner, throwing them both in a bear hug. Despite being a foot shorter than them both, MonStar easily held them in the air.

“Thank you, thank you! I knew you guys trusted me! Thank you guys so much, I swear I won’t let you down,” she promised excitedly.

“P-please… please let us down,” Kimball gasped, feeling her back crack in her charge’s hold.

“Oh, right, right. Sorry.” The reptilian woman set her handlers down as softly as she could.

“Look, Star-”

“ _ Mon _ Star, come on, it’s too cool of a name not to use now that I’m a hero,” she said confidently through a wide, toothy grin.

“Star… you’re gonna have the public eye on you as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent now. You’re not the first agent to go the hero route but you’re the first-”

“Dragon,” she interjected. She knew she wasn’t  _ actually _ a dragon, but no one else had to know that, nor would they care if they were on the receiving end of her claws or fire breath.

“Sure. Everything you do out there will reflect on us.” Kimball explained. It was true, she wanted the young woman to succeed, but there was a steep learning curve and any mistakes would have her pulled from duty.

“I know. But I’ve wanted to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent my whole life- it’s what you’ve been training me for! I’ll make you all proud.” MonStar saluted excitedly, bouncing on her toes as the realization of what was finally happening flooded through her.

“Alright. Go check on the prisoners. I’m sure they’ll miss seeing you now that you’re no longer their guard,” Doyle nodded, dismissing her to the rest of her duties.

“Haha! You guys are great. Seriously, thank you both!” She ran off to go watch over the prisoners for what would be her final shift of guard duty. After a few dozen breakouts, S.H.I.E.L.D. had learned it was best to not put too many bad guys in one place- even if they weren’t superpowered. Instead they created hundreds of smaller outposts to separate and lock away most of their less notable prisoners, most of which were grunt level workers for any of the numerous groups of bad guys around the globe. They currently housed three AIM members who were playing a game of card; a member of the Hand who was on constant suicide watch, immobilized in a specialized full body straightjacket; and Bulldozer of the Wrecking Crew, kept suspended in zero gravity and unable to reach any of the surfaces of his cell to even try to bust out.

MonStar made sure they were all stable and secure and performed the necessary checks on Camp’s cell before making her way to the infirmary. Her sharp claws clicked against the linoleum as she walked, her long, powerful legs reminiscent of a raptor’s. There was only one prisoner there, a relatively frail man hooked up to several methods of life support. He’d likely never be able to leave his bed, but he was still potentially too dangerous to leave in a regular hospital should he gain  _ any _ mobility. So he was here, under S.H.I.E.L.D. protection, where he’d be kept under watch until he either got out of that bed or died in it.

“You murdered a ton of people, Jack. You’re lucky I hadn’t caught you. I wouldn’t have missed your heart.” MonStar huffed, smoke pouring from her nostrils as she spoke. His eyes didn’t even flutter, his chest rising and falling weakly as he took shallow, sharp breaths through his respirator. She walked away from his broken body, relief washing over her as she finally recognized that Philadelphia’s biggest threat was finally neutralized.

* * *

 

“You’ve gotta be ███████ kidding me!” Gwen shouted angrily as she released the previous dozen pages of the comic issue at once, letting them snap back into position in a full page spread of reality warping weirdness.

“Did you find out what-“

“You missed his ███████ heart,” she shouted angrily, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back in the large, wooden chair.

“I what?!” The large, white eyes of Mania’s mask widened as Andi struggled to believe what she’d heard.

“You  _ missed _ his  _ heart _ , Andi!”

“My whole hand was in his chest,” Andi countered. There was  _ no way _ she could’ve missed his heart, she’d been wrist deep in the man’s chest.

“He’s alive, Andi. And now ███████ S.H.I.E.L.D. is protecting him now,” she groaned, rolling her eyes as her mind raced through the possible ways this storyline would be able to be resolved as quickly as possible. She wanted a new story arc! Preferably one that didn’t involve killing someone.

“Gwen, sweetie? How are you making that sound,” Sarah asked worriedly, placing a hand on Gwen’s shoulder. 

“What? ████?”

“This means we’re going to have to attack a S.H.I.E.L.D. base,” Mania said softly. 

“Yeah,” Gwen confirmed.

“████.”

“████.”

* * *

 

“You’ve got to register just like all the other heroes, MonStar,” Agent Kimball chuckled, sitting in front of the exasperated woman. They’d prepared the proper forms and had already filled out most of the paperwork on their end. Recommendations, danger assessments, background checks. All that was left was Star’s part.

“If you guys don’t know what my powers are then no one does,” MonStar said with a laugh, leaning back in her seat. Doyle arched an eyebrow at her, tapping his pen against his clipboard as he waited for her to begin.

“Fine, fine. I’m a radiation induced human mutant. I consume radioactive material and develop my enhancements in turn. I currently have the ability to shapeshift- usually reliant upon the quantities and types of radioactive material I’ve consumed, and the speed with which I metabolize it. Speaking of which, check out the new form! Two parts uranium, one part polonium, and two parts cesium!” MonStar excitedly showed off her current body. Large, blue scales that glimmered green in the dim light of the office they were in. Sharp claws capped the ends of each of her fingers- she was more than excited at the fact she got to keep her thumbs. Where humans had hair, her head was covered in thousands of soft feathers, sporting a short, asymmetrical cut. Her green eyes were slitted like a cat’s.

“I couldn’t keep my fangs though- look, only sharp teeth,” she explained remorsefully, her long, narrow tongue hanging out of her mouth as she showed off.

“That might be for the best,” Kimball said with a smirk.

“And my tail is all short and stumpy. But at least this form is super stable, even with the polonium! I’m not melting or giving off any unintended radiation or anything.” She spoke quickly and excitedly, more than happy to give her handlers the full rundown.

“And you’re going to do your best to stay consistent with this mix, correct? People aren’t going to warm up to you if you change shape every Tuesday,” Doyle reminded her.

“Yes,  _ mom _ , I already told the docs to keep the recipe in the system for me,” she said, rolling her eyes. It was difficult enough for S.H.I.E.L.D. to keep her fed, let alone test different kinds of radioactive material. She’d been working on this mix for the past three years, and had been waiting to be officially deployed before committing to the recipe.

“Well, keep going. Tell us all the ways you’re better than Agent Barton,” Kimball teased.

“Ugh! You’re not gonna tell him I said that are you,” she asked worriedly. The last thing she wanted was to piss off one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s highest ranking agents.

“We might if you ever go rogue. We’ll send him to bring you in,” Doyle said flatly. Kimball and MonStar both turned to him, unsure if it was meant to be a joke.

“Anyway, um… I can breathe fire! I’ve got enhanced speed, strength and senses, I’m pretty sure this form is still bulletproof- anytime I eat cesium that’s pretty much guaranteed- my skin can get super hot, I’m resistant to psychic manipulation, and uh… that’s it I think,” she trailed off, her chair leaning on its back legs as she leaned her weight back even further.

“What feats can you be expected to perform,” Doyle asked, pen already scribbling in the next section of the form without even waiting for her reply.

“Hey, no fair! Make me sound super tough,” MonStar growled. She couldn’t be too upset- her handlers knew her more than anyone else. She’d fudge the numbers to make herself seem stronger than she actually was, increasing the likelihood of being sent into the field against more powerful foes. Bringing in Bulldozer and Flux has been difficult, but she wouldn’t have gotten the chance had she not been overconfident in her ability to bring them in.

“Make sure you write down that time I held up the entire science department from falling into a sinkhole for like three hours,” she reminded him, tapping the form with a claw.

“The sinkhole you created playing with Agent Johnson’s toys,” Kimball asked pointedly.

“Alright, alright. Jeez, I said I was sorry.”

“Any negative effects or risks of your powers to yourself or the people around you,” Doyle asked, looking over the rim of his shades at her. She didn’t want to respond, but he kept his gaze on her, waiting for an answer.

“Ugh, fine. Um, I’ve never been able to metabolize faster than twenty percent capacity. I’m not pyrokinetic so I can’t control the fire I’ve made, and if I burn all my fuel in the field I-”

“More importantly,” Kimball said, placing a hand on MonStar’s.

“Ugh. I’m as dangerous as the radioactive material I’ve eaten. And if I’m killed during a fight I  _ might _ turn into a nuke. But it’s not like I’m planning on dying anytime soon,” she said defensively, unsure why she even had to explain this part. No one could be certain if that worst case scenario was even likely. It was just one possibility of many.

“If you do die, I promise I’ll find whatever way these heroes find to resurrect themselves and kick your ass,” Kimball said playfully. Doyle smirked and put his clipboard down, finally done filling out the form.

“Star,” he said, removing his shades and setting them down on the table.

“Yeah?”

“I’m so damn proud of you.” Both women turned to him, watching his normally blank face betray emotion for the first time in a long time.

“You’ve worked so hard all this time for a shot at this that we couldn’t even guarantee. Now we’re signing release forms. I know you’re going to do some real good on those streets and I can’t wait to see you out there. Good luck.” Star fought to keep the lump in her throat from cracking her voice and the tears threatening to well up in her eyes from falling.

“Th- thanks, D.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and stared at the ceiling for a few moments.

“That said, we have a present for you.” He reached down underneath the table and pulled out a large briefcase. MonStar had seen these kinds of briefcases before, but the last time she’d seen one it’d held a very familiar shield.

“Okay, I know you said ‘we’ to be nice, but I’m completely clueless,” Kimball admitted.

“It was supposed to be classified heavily enough Star couldn’t find out about it. We all know how tough that is,” Doyle said pointedly.

“Don’t look at me! You guys emphasized how important computer training was. I didn’t even want to learn all that stuff. If there’s ever a computer in my way I’ll just smash it,” she said with a toothy smirk. She fell silent as Agent Doyle popped the briefcase open.

“Every one of these heroes has a costume or uniform of some kind. Luckily for you, Star, you get something straight out of Dr. Richard’s and Stark’s labs.” The briefcase held a suit of jet black armor, something MonStar hadn’t even thought about.

“Most of this is made out of tungsten alloys and heavily treated leather to keep it from warping and melting against your scales. You can get as hot as you need without worrying about your clothes.” Doyle decided to spare her the long winded speech Dr. Richards had given him about just how much work had gone into making a suit durable enough and heat resistant enough for the specifications he’d given.

“Aw. I’ll miss being naked,” she said playfully.

“They designed it to expand when necessary so you’ve got about twelve inches to play around with if you need to change size,” he explained, pointing out the dozens of thin seams in the armor.

“Aw, now I really have no reason to be naked,” she joked, running her clawed fingertips along the sturdy metal.

“Most importantly, it’s functional. There’s a well of liquid nitrogen running through hundreds of small channels in the armor. Most of the nitrogen will be focused around your throat, underarms, groin and wrists to-“

“To cool me down! So I can burn hotter without hurting myself! We talked about this forever ago, I can’t believe you actually got someone to make it! Oh, this is amazing,” MonStar said excitedly, quickly ripping her shirt off and taking the armor out of the briefcase.

“Star!” Doyle hissed, turning away to look at the wall behind him.

“Oh, hush! I’m a lizard,” she teased, shimmying out of her pants and sliding into the armor. Kimball stood behind her and helped her adjust the fit until it was snug against her body. It fit like a bodysuit, thick leather form-fitting against her to provide maximum flexibility. There was even a hole in the back for her tail to slide through, for which she was grateful. Meanwhile the armored parts around her chest and shoulders that held most of the liquid nitrogen already felt ice cold. Finally a metal belt wrapped around her waist that she could only assume held even more liquid nitrogen. From its high collar that stopped just short of her jaw, to its legs that cut off right before her knees, it was sleek and already seemed fun to wear.

“The channels go all through the leather and are concentrated where you release the most heat. You’ll feel the full effect when you turn it on. The button is on the inside of your collar,” Doyle explained. MonStar tucked a finger into the collar and felt around before finding the tiny button and giving it a tap. The armor whirred to life, a bright blue light shining from the chest in the shape of a-

“My symbol!” Star shouted excitedly, tears finally falling freely as she recognized the star she’d used to sign her name ever since she was a child.

“All those heroes have some fancy design or whatever. A big spider or weird serpent dragon or something. Thought it might help the public recognize you over- whoa!” Doyle yelped as she grabbed him into another crushing hug. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t even thank him for the thoughtfulness of the gift. She just set him down after a few moments and wiped the tears from her eyes.

“They predicted you’d be able to metabolize at around forty-five percent before you experience the usual adverse effects. That might put you in the fifty ton range you were in while battling Flux. The suit is temperature sensitive so it’ll use more nitrogen the hotter you get. It should last you about six hours in between refills, but if you burn too hot for too long you’ll cut that time down. There’s an indicator on your wrist that’ll read you your levels but it’s probably best if you get out there and experience what the suit can do for yourself. I know you don’t follow manuals well,” he said with a smile. After a moment he slipped his shades back on his face, candid time over.

“It’s definitely better than the costume I’d thought up,” she finally said with a laugh. It’d fallen to the floor during all the commotion, and she quickly picked it up and dusted it off.

“Why do you need a mask,” Kimball asked curiously as MonStar affixed the black domino mask to her face.

“To get back at all those vigilantes who wear them. They use it to hide their faces. I use it to accentuate mine. I’m not hiding from anyone,” she said toughly, punching her open hand in a powerful display. Kimball and Doyle traded looks for a moment, wordlessly communicating something Star couldn’t even guess at.

“We need a picture for the form,” Doyle said, standing up.

“Is this gonna be like all the prom movies I watched growing up where the parents take tons of pics of their daughter in her new dress,” she joked, having always wanted a prom of her own.

“If you call me ‘dad’ I’m shutting this down,” he warned, snapping a few photos.

“This doesn’t mean you skip out on any of your schoolwork either. You’ve gotta maintain that GPA for-”

“Yes, Kimball, I know! I’m gonna go now! I don’t wanna be one of those ‘nighttime only’ heroes. Thanks for everything!” MonStar jogged out of the office, doing her best to maintain human speeds as she threw open the glass doors of the S.H.I.E.L.D. building and breathed in fresh Philadelphia air.

“I’m finally a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent!”

* * *

 

“Yeah, so she's gonna be tough,” Gwen explained, slipping into panel from the Gutter. She was really hoping the writers would stop focusing on their new enemy- it made her nervous about their odds of winning.

“But you got the info on her,” Andi asked worriedly. She’d been sitting not too patiently in her bed, waiting for Gwen to come back.

“Some, not a lot. The writers were doing some exposition stuff for her. She’s definitely a new character made just for this comic so she’s gonna be a wild card just for us. They didn’t have her explain too much though, I guess the writers knew I’d try this trick and made the scene as vague as possible,” she explained, slipping her mask off her face and shimmying out of her costume.

“So what  _ did _ you get,” Andi pressed, the symbiote practically squirming against her skin as it sensed her anxiety.

“She’s got a lot of powers. They flip between calling her a lizard and a dragon. I don’t see why, lizards don’t breathe fire. They’re probably trying to distinguish her from  _ The _ Lizard,” Gwen rambled, grabbing a new outfit for herself.

“Is there a way to  _ beat _ her? You said every hero has a weakness,” Andi reminded her, trying to keep her focused.

“Yeah um, she probably does but I don’t know anything about radioactivity. That’s why we gotta go to the library,” Gwen mentioned casually, slipping her shirt on.

“She’s radioactive?” Andi was suddenly incredibly concerned about the amount of time she’d spent next to the dragon woman.

“Yeah, she eats the stuff and it powers her. She was saying something about running out before she got cut off.”

“She can run out? What does  _ that _ mean?”

“I don’t know! Maybe she powers down? Runs out of fire or something? I told you they were vague,” Gwen responded defensively.

“Gwen, we  _ need _ a way to beat her.” Andi was doing her best to keep her emotions in check, but she felt trapped. Trapped by the Hell-Mark and trapped by this radioactive dragon woman that was trying so hard to keep her from her goal.

“I  _ know  _ Andi, I think I’ve got something. They’re letting her do field work now. She’s gonna be a new hero here in Philadelphia,” Gwen explained, finally dressed and ready to head to the campus library.

“Okay?” That didn’t sound like good news at all.

“We don’t  _ need _ to  _ fight _ her.  _ You _ just need to kill Jack,” Gwen reminded her, a smirk on her face as she explained the loophole she’d thought up.

“So we wait until she’s distracted with some bad guy,” Andi asked curiously. Super crime wasn’t too common in Philadelphia and she wasn’t willing to wait weeks for her chance.

“Or  _ I _ distract her. While you go and…” Gwen drew her thumb across her throat.

“Gwen… I don’t like this plan, you just said she has a ton of powers. How are you going to fight her alone?” The woman had beaten her the last time they’d met, she doubted even at her most powerful she’d be able to win a fight against someone like her. Gwen in the fight alone seemed like suicide.

“Andi, you’re not the top here. You don’t need to protect me,” Gwen responded with a roll of her eyes.

“What?”

“My point is, you don’t have to look out for me. I’ve got this. I wouldn’t be in this comic if I couldn’t handle this.” Gwen shrugged, arms crossed over her chest as she waited for Andi to join her to head to the library.

“Okay, Gwen… I just… we’ve always done this kinda stuff together. I’m infiltrating a S.H.I.E.L.D. base, you’re fighting the bad guy alone…”

“Aw, worried you’ll miss me,” she teased as Andi finally hopped off her bed and slipped into her boots.

“Never mind. Good plan.”

“That’s the spirit,” Gwen teased, nudging her with an elbow.


	13. Chapter 13

“Someone looks super excited tonight,” Andi teased, watching as Himawari practically skipped around their room in excitement. She’d been way more upbeat this week- something that’d been noticeable despite how little time they’d spent in their dorm.

“Oh? Yeah, I’ve got a date,” she explained, rummaging through her backpack as she spoke.

“A date! Himawari, I can’t believe you’re cheating on me! I thought we had something special,” Gwen whined dramatically, throwing herself onto Andi’s bed so hard she made the bunk bounce.

“Hey! That’s not fair! You know I would’ve said yes if you’d actually been serious,” Himawari said defensively, flushed cheeks betraying just how much truth was behind her words.

“Trust me, you’re way better off with anyone besides her,” Andi said with a smirk before effortlessly catching a pillow Gwen had tossed down at her.

“Well, when do I get to see the evil villain who’s taken you from me,” Gwen asked with a pout.

“Oh, um… eventually? It’s only our first date, I don’t wanna, you know… get her involved or anything if it doesn’t work out,” she fumbled over her words as she spoke.

“Boooo. Is she actually ugly? Is that why you don’t want me to meet her,” Gwen pressed, weirdly invested in the conversation in a way that made Andi nervous.

“You really don’t have to listen to Gwen at all,” Andi sighed.

“Haha. It’s fine, if I wasn’t used to her by now I would’ve asked for a room change. She’s like the little sister I’ve always wanted,” Himawari chuckled, sitting in between her two roommates.

“Did I just get little sibling zoned! Ouch, that actually hurts,” Gwen placed a hand over her chest as she feigned her heartbreak. Andi rolled her eyes and got ready to change the subject before Gwen quickly interjected.

“Hey, serious question!”

“Mhmm,” Himawari asked curiously.

“Would you date a superhero?” It was such an odd question even Andi was lost.

“Huh?”

“Like, Valkyrie or Hulk. Would you date them,” Gwen pressed, playfully nudging her smaller roommate with her elbow.

“Um… maybe? Definitely not Hulk, way too destructive,” Himawari admitted, not looking Gwen in the eyes as she spoke.

“What about Nightcrawler,” Gwen teased, wrapping an arm around Himawari’s shoulders.

“He’s cute, I guess,” Himawari mumbled, fidgeting with her hands as she tried to distract herself.

“Agent Venom,” she asked, eyes flicking towards Andi as she spoke before turning back towards her victim.

“Isn’t he Agent  _ Anti _ -Venom now,” Himawari asked confusedly.

“That’s  _ still _ a dumb name! But yes! That guy!”

“Um, isn’t he like, forty?”

“I’m going to die,” Andi sighed, covering her head with her pillow and trying to block out the ridiculous conversation going on around her.

“If he wasn’t?”

“I wouldn’t be against it, I guess,” she admitted.

“What about those cute new heroes here in Philadelphia?” Gwen made sure to ask as if she didn’t really know them, absolutely refusing to so much as put the idea in Himawari’s head that those heroes might be her own roommates.

“Um… Mania, no. Maybe Gwenpool? She’s kinda silly I guess?”

“What about weird heroes? What about the Lizard,” Gwen pressed, already chuckling as she asked.

“He’s not a hero,” Himawari said quickly, cheeks, neck and ears absolutely flushed as she squirmed in embarrassment.

“Details! Would you do the Lizard?”

“Gwen why are you asking me this,” Himawari asked, cheeks burning red as she squirmed on her mattress, clearly confused and uncomfortable with the conversation they were having.

“Well, Andi and I were talking-”

“We were?” Andi finally lifted the pillow off her face, curious as to why Gwen had been asking their roommate so many questions, herself.

“ _ Anyway _ , I was saying that it’d be kinda mean and rude to say you wouldn’t date a hero based on their appearance, you know? Like, if you looked like a giant lizard but you’re still a person, it would be rude to say no  _ just _ because you looked like a lizard,” she explained, the hypothetical question not sounding very hypothetical to Andi’s ears. 

“Would  _ you _ date a lizard person,” Himawari asked pointedly.

“Yeah, sure. It’d probably be fun. Would you?”

“Um… yeah, I guess? I wouldn’t say no,” Himawari covered her face, sinking into the sheets. Gwen turned to Andi and winked. Andi had no idea what it had meant, but she knew Gwen was most likely thinking something she wouldn’t like.

* * *

 

“I’m telling you! She’s dating MonStar! It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Gwen explained, angrily stomping her foot as she explained her reasoning for the fifth time.

“Andi, come on! You heard her- she’d totally date a lizard person if she could!”

“That doesn’t mean she  _ is _ dating a lizard person, Gwen,” Andi said with a sigh.

“If she’s dating MonStar you owe me a new sword.”

“What?”

“If she’s dating the dragon chick, you owe me a new sword. A big one,” Gwen explained, a seriousness in her voice Andi still wasn’t used to.

“And if she isn’t?” She wasn’t usually one to entertain Gwen like this, but this time she couldn’t help herself.

“I dunno. What do you want,” Gwen asked curiously.

“I’d give the world for you to shut up for like, a day,” she replied sarcastically.

“Wow! Rude! But fine, you win, I’ll be quiet for a whole day.” Gwen crossed her arms and rolled her eyes as she agreed to the terms.

“Oh god, I can’t wait,” Andi said with a smirk, flipping through one of the books she’d checked out. They’d borrowed about a dozen books on radioactive material and radiation safety from the campus library and were doing their best to find some weakness MonStar might have.

“Did you find anything yet,” she asked, tiredly looking over to Gwen.

“Oh, you want me to speak now?”

“Gwen,” she hissed exasperatedly.

“No, Andi, I haven’t found anything,” Gwen sighed, finally closing the book she’d had open in front of her for nearly an hour.

“Gwen this isn’t going to work. There’s no way you can fight her without-”

“Andi, do you wanna know why I haven’t found anything? Because I’m not  _ looking _ . S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn’t let her be an agent if she was bathing everything around her in gamma rays whenever she stepped out of the base,” Gwen explained, revealing the house of cards she’d been working on behind a stack of books.

“Gwen, we-”

“Andi. The longer we try to think up a plan, the less likely we are to win. Look at the Guardians of the Galaxy! They never make a plan and they always win!”

“You told me they lost against Thanos,” Andi replied angrily.

“Oh  _ now _ you remember the plot of the movies! You weren’t even listening to me when I explained how underwhelming Civil War was because of how few heroes were in it,” Gwen rambled. She’d explained the movie plots at least three different times and Andi had seemed disinterested in every movie except for the Venom adaptation.

“Fine, Gwen. Whatever. I’m trying to make sure you don’t get fried and you’re worried about movies,” Andi sighed, Mania’s voice in the back of her mind reminding her just how dangerous Gwen’s lack of focus could be.

“You’ve gotta have more faith in me than that. She’s only a lizard girl. Spider-Man fights a lizard guy all the time,” Gwen explained nonchalantly.

“You’ve gotta trust me.”

“Okay… I trust you.” Andi wasn’t sure how true that was.

“There we go! Now it’s showtime.” Gwen winked just before her house of cards fell down in a pile on the table.

“Aw man.”

* * *

 

Mania took a deep, calming breath as she waited for the signal. Gwen had explained the relatively simple plan at least three times, but Mania still felt nervous leaving her friend alone with the dragon for any length of time.

“If you’re quick about it you can join me before I win the fight,” Gwen had said cockily as she stuffed a rocket launcher into her shark backpack. Andi’s mind wandered to the scene, desperately trying to understand how her partner managed to put impossibly large objects into her backpack.

She nearly jumped out of her second skin when her phone went off. The message was a single picture, Gwenpool’s tongue playfully sticking out at the camera as MonStar rushed towards her in the background of the photo. Mania rolled her eyes and jumped down from the tree she’d been hiding in, ready to go.

“Mussssst be quick,” The symbiote warned, shimmering before making them both completely invisible as they fired a tendril at the roof of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base.

“I know, I don’t wanna be here too long either, girl,” Andi whispered, pulling herself up to the roof and landing on the balls of her feet without so much as kicking up dust. Gwen had given her a long list of things to watch out for in a S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Several dozen safety measures that were all designed to make breaking in nearly impossible. Nearly being the key word.

“The symbiote hides your heat signature  _ and _ can go invisible. You’d be a ghost to them, as long as you’re quiet,” she’d explained. Mania didn’t want to imagine what would happen to her if S.H.I.E.L.D. had designed a new security system since Gwen had last picked up a comic book. Hardly breathing, she waited for dozens of armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to surge from the base. No one came. A few hesitant steps secured her safety, and she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Finding the ventilation shaft was easy. Getting inside without making a sound was a little more difficult.

“They’re not expecting an infiltration mission like this. Just look at who they’re keeping. AIM will just hack their guys out. The Wrecking Crew will rip the front door off its hinges. And no one is coming for that Hand guy, they kill themselves if they’re caught. They’re not prepared for a symbiote coming in for an assassination mission,” Gwen had explained confidently. That had at least made sense.

Mania crawled through the vents, listening for any signs of people that might hear her. Every movement was calculated to ensure it made the least amount of sound possible. She waited until she found an exit that led to a room where the lights were off before deciding on an exit. Mania’s tendrils slotted into the screws and loosened them until the panel came free. Two more tendrils lowered her down to the floor while a third fit the panel back into place as if it’d never been moved.

Making her way to the cells was relatively easy. An entire floor was dedicated to them, and neither the AIM grunts nor Bulldozer stirred as she walked passed them. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up as the Hand member locked eyes with her and she quickly walked passed towards the final cell on the floor.

The door opened easily, clearly Jack was the prisoner who needed the least amount of security. The symbiote dropped their camouflage as she walked up to his bed and looked down on his limp body. She wanted to make him suffer in his final moments, to beat him, to kick him, to break him. But as she placed a hand on his chest, feeling the wound she’d left, he didn’t even flinch away. He’d had enough.

She listened to the slow beep from the monitor in the room, watching his feeble heartbeat make patterns on the green screen. This had to be over quick.

“This is for my dad,” she whispered, removing his respirator and pushing his pillow down over his face. She looked away, keeping her eyes focused on the monitor as she watched his heartbeat speed up, his body fighting to suck down a breath that’d never come. The same tingling feeling pricked at the back of her neck as his eyes opened for the first time in days, searching Mania’s expressionless face for an answer she wouldn’t give. He wheezed softly, lungs unable to draw enough breath to make a sound as he finally slipped back into unconsciousness, the cracked and burned skin of his hands clutching at her wrists for a moment before sliding back down to the bed. She waited until the monitor finally stopped beeping before taking her weight off the pillow. Her Hell-Mark burned on her chest for a moment before the sting quickly subsided. Jack was  _ finally _ dead. Again.

Andi was midway through her sigh of relief when the prickling feeling at the back of her neck turned into being stabbed by dozens of needles. She jumped out of the way as a clawed fist nearly collided with the back of her head.

“What is  _ WRONG _ with you?!” MonStar lunged at at Mania, tackling her with the force of a freight train. Mania struggled to fight back, the symbiote digging deep and strengthening her legs and arms as she pushed back against the lizard woman.

“Where’s Gwenpool,” she hissed, sharp teeth bared as she pushed the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent back a couple of feet.

“You should be worried about yourself,” MonStar growled back, throwing a quick knee to Mania’s gut that knocked the wind out of her. Before she could recover, MonStar slammed them both into the wall, cracking the brick and stone under their combined strength.

“You  _ killed _ him! Do you even care,” MonStar roared, forced to let go as Mania’s tendrils wrapped around her, covering her eyes and tangling around her wrists. She tore the tendrils off herself as Mania vaulted over her, landing a dozen feet away as she tried to get some distance between them.

“Get  _ back _ here,” the dragon jumped after her, her powerful legs nearly keeping pace with Mania in the small room. Andi jumped and landed on the ceiling before leaping towards the far wall, then the door, MonStar growing closer with each jump. In desperation, Andi fired off a barrage of webbing, hitting the dragon’s wrists and feet, sticking her to the ceiling. A few seconds of rest as MonStar fought for leverage to tear from the webbbing.

“We’ve gotta find Gwenpool,” Andi whispered as she ran from the room, only managing a few steps before stopping in her tracks.

“Gwen! Gwen, what happened,” she hissed. Her friend was bleeding from her nose but otherwise, she seemed fine.

“What are you doing! Let’s go,” she hissed, grabbing her friend by the arm and pulling her into a side room.

“I’m the distraction,” Gwen replied airily, half-lidded eyes hardly focusing on Mania as she slurred her words.

“Did you think I’d let you two teleport out of here,” MonStar laughed, her razor sharp claws burning white hot as they tore into Mania’s back. Her toothy mouth opened wide as she screamed in pain. Still in agony as the symbiote struggled to seal itself over her wounds, she turned to face the dragon, taking a stand to defend Gwenpool.

“Aw, you’re not gonna try to run without your girlfriend? Don’t make this easy for me, the score’s already 2-0,” she laughed, tearing the last of the webbing off her wrists.

“Stay away,” Andi hissed, taking a deep breath and letting the Hell-Mark flare up on her chest. Her white eyes glowed with satanic fire as she let loose, a wall of flame slamming into the agent that ignited the air around her, boiling the linoleum floor and cracking the concrete behind her. The smoke cleared quickly, revealing the dragon  disinterestedly rolling her eyes.

“Alright, I guess you’re not the brains of the group,” she sighed, grabbing Mania by the throat. Andi struggled to pull away from her grasp, but MonStar’s grip was tight and her scales protected her against the sharp claws and spikes Mania grew along her body to try to protect herself.

“Night night, princess.”

* * *

 

Andi woke up to a loud whispering that she didn’t seem to hear. It came from inside her, rattling around her brain as she came to.

“…mussssst wake up!”

“I’m up, I’m up,” she whispered, the odd, distant ache of a wound the symbiote had long since healed ringing in her ears.

“Took you long enough.” Dim lights switched on, giving the room she was in a dull glow. Mania was seated in a high-backed chair, not even restrained, facing a wall inlaid with a large window. There was a wooden table in front of her, covered in pictures of her infiltrating the Raft as well as a few dozen pictures of her breaking into the S.H.I.E.L.D. base and killing Jack. She watched as MonStar rested a hand on Gwenpool’s shoulder, her friend lazily rambling as the drugs they’d injected her with coursed through her. Mania immediately bristled, her Hell-Mark burning as anger like she’d never felt before coursed through her.

“Ah, ah, ah! We wouldn’t want anything happening to your friend here, would we? She’s just a regular old human, after all. Anything can happen to someone so fragile,” MonStar warned, a hand wrapping around Gwenpool’s throat as she emphasized her point. Her friend didn’t even struggle, her words simply cut short as she could no longer draw breath.

“Let her go,” Mania hissed, mouth full of sharp teeth and whipping tongue.

“Oh, enough. You’re caught. It’s over. You’re both getting shipped off to the Raft as soon as the transports arrive,” MonStar said with a smirk, taking a seat on the table in front of Gwenpool.

“This is the part where you beg me to let you go,” she chuckled.

“We haven’t done anything,” Mania hissed, struggling through her breathing exercises to keep her temper down before she exploded.

“Right, right. That wasn’t the two of you breaking into the Raft,” MonStar asked pointedly, clawed fingers tracing along the seams of Gwenpool’s mask.

“You were killing my partner,” Andi shouted, slamming her fists down on the table in front of her.

“The Mania symbiote isn’t ‘your partner’ it’s S.H.I.E.L.D. property that’d been bonded to a known mass murderer at the time. Maybe you should ask it how many people it’s helped kill,” MonStar reminded her, lazily yawning as Gwen rambled about the composition of Captain America’s shield.

“Mania’s with  _ me _ now,” Andi shouted, her voice emphasized by Mania’s loud hiss.

“Right, and one of the first things you do with it is kill Jack O’Lantern? Stellar record,” she said sarcastically.

“Without us he’d still be out there murdering people! It’s not like S.H.I.E.L.D.’s done anything to catch him,” Mania spat, dropping her breathing exercises altogether.

“ _ We _ caught him,” MonStar growled in response, finally taking her hand off Gwenpool. Mania whispered in Andi’s ear at that, forming a plan while her host kept the dragon distracted.

“After  _ we _ found him. He’d killed almost a hundred people! His gang kidnapped dozens more and  _ we _ found him! Not S.H.I.E.L.D.” Andi wasn’t good at getting under people’s skin- that was Gwen’s forte. But MonStar wore her heart on her sleeve.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. was tracking him for weeks to get him and his gang at the same time,” MonStar hissed angrily, smoke pouring from her nostrils.

“We  _ found _ the victims! Believe it or not, heroes aren’t as incompetent as S.H.I.E.L.D. is!”

“What did you just say?” MonStar jumped off her seat on the table and walked towards the window, smoke pouring from her nostrils with every breath.

“I said you’re incompetent! All of you! Go ahead, lock us up. I just killed Jack and every gang in the city is going to try and fill in that power vacuum. You’ll be begging for our help in a week.” Mania kicked her feet up on the table, relaxed and poised, completely in control despite her Hell-Mark burning on her chest.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t  _ need _ your help. We’d have super crime under control if all you heroes weren’t so afraid of paperwork,” MonStar shouted back, fists clenched as she was pushed to the edge of her patience. Mania laughed, loud and jarring as it echoed in the small room. She closed her eyes, throwing her head back as she laughed even harder.

“I don’t know what’s more sad! The fact that you actually believe that, or the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. needs you to believe that to keep a leash on their-” MonStar’s reaction was swift, an angry fist that slammed down on the glass window, shattering it into millions of pieces.

“Wha-”

“Don’t… ressssissssst.” The voice was calm and quiet in her mind. Less than a suggestion. Andi closed her eyes and let Mania take over. Suddenly she was underwater, her body moving on its own as Mania thrust its mass forward, slamming into the window and the dragon behind it. Her own body followed suit, leaping from her seated position into a frontflip that landed her square on MonStar’s chest. The symbiote quickly fired off a thick shot of webbing, catching the dragon square in her open maw as she breathed in to ready her fire breath. The rest of Mania’s mass quickly congealed back around her body, firing off two strong tendrils that connected with MonStar’s shoulders. In one effortless motion, she kicked off the dragon’s chest in a second flip and used her strength and momentum to pick the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent up off her feet and slam her down on her head, cracking the linoleum floor below them and knocking the wind out of her opponent before the glass of the shattered window had even fallen to the ground.

MonStar roared in unbridled anger, stumbling to her feet, but a quick leg sweep slammed her back on the ground. Mania fired off several more shots of webbing, sticking clawed hands and scaled elbows to the broken floor.

“Won’t hhhhhold. Mussssst ruuuuun!” A long tendril wrapped itself around Gwenpool’s waist, yanking her limp body out of her chair and forming itself around her body. No comment about tentacles or privacy invasion made it clear her partner still under the effects of the sedative.

“We need her awake,” Andi begged, head on a swivel as two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents kicked open the door, firing without hesitation at her. The bullets stung more than usual, but two quick shots of webbing clogged the barrels of the guns as she shoved passed the agents, knocking them on their asses as if they were children. A dozen more agents had followed the first pair, but Mania paid them no mind as she raced passed them, turning down unfamiliar hallways as she searched for an exit. She’d ripped open the door to the stairwell when she’d heard it, a loud, rumbling roar that seemed to shake the building in its foundations. The dragon had shaken her bindings and was out for blood.

“Twooooo minutessss,” Mania whispered, a thin tendril fired from her wrist, sticking itself to the ceiling as she rappelled down. Fifteen feet from the ground she was pulled back up, as if the line were shrinking as she used it. Clawed hands were pulling the line back up faster than she was drawing it, and when their eyes met, a torrent of flame spouted from the dragon’s maw.

“Second floor,” Andi shouted, the symbiote hissing in pain as the heat from the fire missed them by inches, cracking concrete and melting metal. Powerful backhands and thick webbing put down the few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who’d managed to mobilize, while the sharp ringing in her ears that usually came with danger just barely cleared them of an agent who’d grabbed a flamethrower.

“We need to  _ leave _ ,” Andi hissed, spotting an entrance to the ventilation system and jumping into it, no time to remove the protective panel. Crawling through the vent was slow going, Gwen’s limp body like deadweight pressing against her as she used her tendrils to pull herself through the tight squeeze.

“The vents,” MonStar’s raspy roar could easily be heard as she climbed to the third floor, and suddenly the shaft began to heat up like an oven as fire came pouring through. A branching path saved her life, heated air pushing her forward into safety as the flames rushed passed a moment later. A loud thump signaled that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent had entered the vent herself, scrabbling claws pulling her forward faster than Mania could with Gwenpool’s added weight.

“‘An’ he keeps the Hulk on a big red leash, ‘ike a lil’ puppy,” Gwen slurred, her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she spoke.

“Gwen! Gwen! I need some magic right now,” Mania hissed, pulling herself along the ventilation shaft, desperately searching for an exit to put some distance between herself and the rapidly approaching dragon.

“Bippity boppity boo,” Gwen chuckled, finally picking her head up as the drug was flushed from her system. She looked around, the world spinning through her eyes as she tried to make sense of what was going on around her.

“Wha… wha’s happ’n,” she asked sleepily, her eyes unable to focus on MonStar as she found the branched exit they were in and flung herself after them, sharp claws shredding the thin sheet metal as she bounded towards them.

“Gwenpool, come on, I need an exit,” Mania hissed, slamming a fist into a panel and sliding out of the ventilation shaft. They fell out into a large auditorium filled with training equipment, most of which read weights that just weren’t physically possible for humans.

“One… one sec… this headache is killing me,” Gwenpool groaned, holding her head in her hands as the symbiote set her down.

“We don’t have one sec, Gwenpool, she’s-”

“Just give  _ up _ already,” MonStar roared, tearing out of the ventilation shaft after them. She landed on all fours, long tongue tasting the air as she locked eyes with Mania. She leapt at her, but this time both the symbiote and its host were ready.

Aiming a sharp left hook, she caught the beast mid-leap, slamming her fist into its cheek. Stunned, MonStar was quickly thrown over Mania’s shoulder, landing flat on her back on top of a rack of 500 pound dumbbells. Without skipping a beat, Mania landed on her chest, knocking the wind out of her opponent. A quick barrage of webbing stuck her wrists and forearms to the ground, and a kick to the face stunned her again as she tried to breathe in for another walk of flames.

“Gwenpool,” Mania shouted, knowing the webbing wouldn’t hold.

“I’m  _ trying _ , how about  _ you _ get drugged next time,” Gwen groaned, shakily getting to her feet as she leaned her weight against the wall.

“No,” MonStar hissed, her scales glowing green as her body heated up. Mania quickly hopped off the woman, the symbiote sizzling from the heat. The webbing burned and boiled before finally melting away, liquid tar sliding off her scales onto the floor. Mania stood between her friend and the woman, knowing that there’d be no way out without Gwen’s reality jumping.

“I need a new page,” Gwen shouted desperately, unable to reach the Gutter without a proper segue. MonStar leaped towards the pair without hesitation, all claws and smoke and sharp teeth ready to tear into them both. She immediately slammed into the border of the panel, a thin but unbreakable wall in between her and the two heroes.

“Haha! Now we just wait until- oh!” Gwenpool fumbled as MonStar tore a hole through the border, tearing the panel open and spilling out into the one they were in.

“Gwenpool,” Mania shouted, the symbiote forming sharp claws and spikes, ready for another clash with MonStar.

“All aboard the Gutter express,” Gwen shouted, grabbing her friend by the shoulder and pulling her through reality.

“No!” The loud, raspy roar was cut short as they left the S.H.I.E.L.D. base behind, finally safe from their pursuer.

“Man, my head hurts,” Gwen groaned, fumbling as she found their exit. There weren’t too many panels ready for their escape, but she managed to find one a few hours in the future. She pulled them through and into their dorm, landing on Gwen’s top bunk with a loud thump. They barely had time to sit up before their doorknob rumbled and turned, Himawari walking into the room, body flushed from a workout. She stopped in her tracks, eyes wide as she met those of the two heroes. Chewing at her lip, she clenched her fists as she weighed her options.

“Himawari! It’s us! These are our Halloween costumes,” Andi explained, peeling Mania off her head as the symbiote took the texture of fabric, falling off her head like a hoodie. Gwen narrowed her eyes at her partner, ready to berate her for revealing their identities to their roommate.

“You two scared the crap out of me,” Himawari said angrily, stomping her feet as she let the door close behind her.

“I can’t  _ believe _ you two got costumes without me,” she whined, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked at the two from head to toe.

“Is that why you’ve been working out more, Gwen? Wanted your legs to look close to Gwenpool’s,” she teased, playfully squeezing her friend’s calves.

“I… I guess,” Gwen said with a sigh, laying back down on her bed with a grumpy pout.


	14. Chapter 14

“Is it supposed to tickle,” Andi asked worriedly. She was sitting inside of a pentagram, legs crossed as she waited for Terrible Eye to work her magic. She’d spent nearly two hours casting protective wards around the area, highlighting just how serious messing with Mephisto like this was.

“How don’t you have your own comic yet? You’re not even scared of the devil,” Gwen exclaimed, downing her third cup of Sarah’s weird starry drink.

“Gwen, please put the glass down. You promised not to overdose again,” Sarah reminded her worriedly, not looking up from her book as she chastised her friend.

“Ugh, fine,” Gwen pouted, putting the drink down before she crossed her arms.

“Guys, am I gonna be okay,” Andi asked, Mania squirming against her skin as the ticklish sensation grew even stronger.

“Andi, please stop talking, I’m trying to concentrate,” Sarah reminded her softly, drawing the final goat blood rune into the pentagram Andi was sitting in.

“Yeah, Andi, quit distracting us,” Gwen chimed in, already sipping from her fourth glass. Andi huffed loudly and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for whatever was supposed to happen to happen.

“Okay, Gwen. The second I put on the Eye, I’m going to begin. Mephisto will do everything in his power to stop me from finishing the ceremony. Anything that tries to hurt Andi-”

“Sarah, don’t worry about me. Doreen and I kicked the crap out of Mephisto in three panels flat. If anything he should be afraid of me,” she reminded her with a smirk.

“Oh, right… whatever did happen to your brother-”

“Ah, ah! Spoilers! We’re here for Andi’s character arc,” Gwen handed Sarah the Eye before downing her last glass and getting her pistols ready. She slid her mask over her face, ready for action. Sarah looked down at the headpiece before looking to Andi.

“Are you ready,” Sarah asked, soft eyes looking to the young woman sitting in a ring of blood.

“Yeah., I’m not really cut out to rule Hell. Way too edgy for me,” Andi chuckled, doing her best to hide her blush as she looked up at Sarah.

“Well, I think I’ve still got some of my vintage corsets lying around if you ever plan on slipping into something a little more Victorian,” she offered, taking a deep breath and fitting the headpiece on over her face. Andi looked down at the ground, hoping to hide her own flushed cheeks as she waited for Terrible Eye to begin.

“Jack’s soul has been returned to Hell. This woman’s contract with Mephisto is void.” Terrible Eye waited, eyes rotating in their sockets as she waited for…  _ something. _

“Should… something be happening,” Andi asked confusedly, only to be shushed by the woman.

“Gwen, look out,” she hissed, her eyes focused on something just off the Gwenpool’s left. Gwen looked around curiously, not even moving away as she tried to find the source of Terrible Eye’s fright.

“Sarah do we need the get the Eye adjust- hng!” Gwen clutched at her chest, gasping for breath. The lenses of her mask went wide as she struggled to breathe, and Andi quickly jumped up from her spot in the pentagram, symbiote already covering her skin as she readied for a fight.

“Gwen!”

“Do  _ not _ move, child,” Terrible Eye warned, pointing a stern finger at Mania.

“Ah, the bitch that aided in your escape. I was awaiting the day you’d deliver her to me. Sooner than I expected,” Gwen laughed, dry and cruel. It didn’t take long before Mania realized her friend wasn’t herself anymore.

“Mephisto… What business have you here,” Terrible Eye questioned, moving to stand between Gwen and Mania.

“You’ve been too long without the Eye, you forget your place,” Mephisto chuckled, pacing around the pentagram, looking for a flaw in its construction. One incomplete line and he’d be able to snatch Andi away from this ridiculous place. Unfortunately, if Terrible Eye was anything, she was meticulous.

“I know you never attend these events personally,” Terrible Eye countered.

“And miss out on all the fun,” he laughed with Gwen’s voice and it sent a shiver down Mania’s spine. How was he doing this? Was Gwen okay?

“What have you brought to offer me in exchange?”

“Mephisto,  _ you _ are in breach of contract,” she explained, all three eyes locking on to Gwen.

“Ah, of course. The girl’s experienced such distress ever since the Mark’s residing in her. That little excursion to Hell was unintentional, and torturing poor Jack’s wretched soul provided no catharsis at all,” he smiled wide, head tilting as he spoke. Mania wished there’d been something different about her friend. Red eyes or gnashing teeth or  _ something _ to show she’d been possessed by this evil. Rosy cheeks and watery blue eyes that she’d known for so long speaking like this… it felt worse than being in his presence in the first place.

“That was a mistake! I didn’t mean to do any of that,” Mania barked, fists clenched as she fought to stay in Terrible Eye’s pentagram.

“As was Jack’s cold blooded murder? Child, that Mark belongs on you more than you know,” he laughed, sheathing Gwen’s katana with a quick flick of her wrist.

“You are under obligation to correct your mistake or-“

“Hush, Eye. I’ll absolve the girl of her responsibilities. I’ve found myself a more… interesting candidate,” he said dismissively, taking time to look at Sarah’s collection of trinkets.

“Mephisto, that girl has done  _ nothing _ to- hrk!” Terrible Eye had begun making runes with her hands before she was cut short, left clutching at her throat, completely unable to speak.

“I remember demanding your silence,” Mephisto said casually, walking over to a small mirror inlaid in the wall. He ran Gwen’s fingers through her hair before looking to Mania in the reflection.

“This is the part where you beg for your friend’s life, child.”

“I’m not playing your fucking game,” she growled, large white eyes narrowing as she glared at him.

“Child, you must understand… There’s such hatred, such violence in your heart. You’re a contender for my throne, sure… but  _ this _ girl? Such madness, such chaos in her future. You don’t even realize who’s life you’re pleading for.” Mephisto finally turned back around, facing Mania as he straightened out Gwen’s costume. With a shudder, her costume began to change, the white fabric growing completely black before stretching to fit her tighter, accentuating curves and muscles Andi was sure hadn’t been there before. Her briefs grew into shorts, then pants, covering her legs completely as a long cape sprouted from her shoulders. Andi looked up into pink lenses she no longer recognized, confused and terrified.

“Ah, much better. An agent of chaos indeed,” Mephisto laughed, sliding the mask off Gwen’s face and revealing shoulder length hair and black lipstick that made both Andi and Mania inexplicably uncomfortable.

“What did you-”

“Andrea, be calm, girl. I’ve no intention of harming your friend. I just needed her better half to show you what lies ahead for poor Gwen.” There was a deep, red glow and suddenly Gwen dropped to her knees, gasping for breath again. Andi almost took a step out of the pentagram before Mania pulled her back, sensing even more danger than before.

“G- Gwen?”

“Kind of,” Gwen laughed, standing up and dusting herself off.

“Oh, man, it’s good to be back,” she sighed, stretching her arms wide as she looked around the room.

“Sarah, hey! Long time no see. Sorceress Supreme yet or is Strange still holding it down in this timeline,” Gwen playfully patted Terrible Eye on the back who coughed loudly, her voice returned to her.

“ _ You _ don’t belong here,” Terrible Eye sneered, somehow more uncomfortable than she’d been facing down Mephisto only minutes earlier.

“Aw, I thought you’d be happy to see me! You’re the only one who knows what I’ve done, after all,” Gwen laughed, big and dramatic, as if she’d practiced her evil laugh for years.

“Gwen what did he do to you,” Mania hissed, the symbiote bristling against her skin.

“Mania? What are you… oh did I get retconned again,” Gwen asked curiously, tilting her head as she inspected the other hero.

“I  _ did _ ! Andi, baby! Sunshine, the love of my life. How are you,” she cooed, a playful smirk on her face as she spoke. Andi frowned, looking from Gwen to Terrible Eye for an explanation.

“She’s a future Gwen had destroyed,” Terrible Eye explained, rubbing her throat as she tested her magic.

“Oh, am I supposed to be dead? Haha, looks like the writers didn’t get  _ that _ memo,” Gwen laughed.

“Andi, honey. It’s great seeing you again. Even if it’s baby you. The Victorian Goth look Sarah puts you on to is totally more your style,” she teased, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear.

“Why are you talking like-”

“Oh, come on, puddin’ isn’t it obvious? I’ve been crushing on you since before we first met... To be fair I’m crushing on most Marvel characters,” she added pensively before blowing a kiss at Terrible Eye.

“Have you seen Wolverine? Totally daddy material,” she laughed to herself before reaching out for Andi, stopping just short of the pentagram.

“Anyway, I’ll totally forgive you for trying to kill me in the future, we’ll just call it even for what I did to you. Or what I will do? Gosh I can’t wait for you to find out!” Mania glared at her, doing everything she could to keep the Hell-Mark from overwhelming her. The anger was like acid boiling in her stomach and it took everything she could to stop from diving forward out of the pentagram.

“Now for the main event. Mephisto wanted me to show you something from my past- well, your future I guess. Hm, so is this a flashback or foreshadowing? Eh, who cares,” Gwen shrugged as she reached into the Gutter, her arm disappearing up to her elbow as she searched around for… something.

“Oh, should I show you how I start Civil War 4? It was the biggest one yet, even Thanos and Galactus got involved. Hmm, nah that’s not as interesting if you aren’t into multiverse level threats. If I’m gonna give you spoilers, it’s gotta be something you’ll believe baby Gwen would do, huh? Well, how about this?” She pulled out a comic book, the cover read Gwenpool Strikes Back #3. She flipped through the book before getting to a page that made her smile.

“You know who Bruce Banner is, right? Amazing scientist? Gamma radiation? The Incredible Hulk? Founding member of the Avengers?” She held the book up to Mania, and it was impossible for her to ignore the extra large panel of Gwen pulling the trigger on the man, splattering the contents of his skull on the sandy beach while a dozen other heroes watched in horror.

“You’d believe I’d murder Hulk, wouldn’t you? You don’t even need to hear a reason,” Gwen smiled wide, reading the comic herself and enjoying the carnage it showed.

“Give. Gwen. Back.” Mania wasn’t asking. Her Hell-Mark had burned into her chest, symbiote forming claws and spikes along her body that showed her only intent. The ground rumbled as the smell of sulfur belched up from fissures that’d opened in the ground. She was tired of listening to this woman talk. She was getting her friend back.

“Aw, there’s my little Demonspawn! Just you wait, soon you’ll be even scarier without even needing to be angry. But fine, fine, I’ll give you your little girlfriend back. Wouldn’t want to ruin the awkward dating stage for you two. It’s very formative!” Gwen looked around before clicking her heels together three times.

“Hey! Mephisto! I’d like to be nineteen again,” Gwen shouted.

“Huh? Oh! Big M says you’re off the hook for your Hell-Mark obligations... For now. The dramatic pause was intentional. But if you ever need him, you know how to summon him. And Andi, babe… before I go, I gotta give past you some advice. You’re gonna try to stop this from happening. You’re gonna try to stop me from becoming  _ this _ and you from becoming Empress of Hell. I love you enough to ask you, just this once, don’t try and be a hero. You wouldn’t want to ruin your only shot at some guaranteed happiness, would you?” Gwen frowned as she reached out one more time, her fingertips never passing the border of the pentagram.

“See you soon, Andrea,” she sighed, and in an instant she was gone. A few inches shorter, dizzy and disoriented, she leaned against the back of a chair for support.

“Ugh… did we beat him,” Gwen groaned, rubbing her temples. Terrible Eye lowered her hands, magic glow fading as she recognized Gwen was herself again.

“You can leave now, child,” she said, smearing the goat’s blood with her foot as she released Mania from her containment.

“Gwen, are you okay,” Andi asked, the symbiote forming back into a shirt as she moved to hold her friend steady.

“Yeah? Just a headache. I think I drank too much of that star stuff,” Gwen groan, shifting her weight from the chair to Andi.

“Gwen, you were-”

“Possessed! By Mephisto. I guess he spit you out or something. You’re back.”

“Andi we-” Andi hushed the woman with a look, Mania covering her face and stretching her mouth into a wide, toothy snarl.

“You guys are being weird. Ugh, let’s go kick some bad guy ass or something, I want this issue to be over,” Gwen sighed, standing up and brushing herself off.

“Thanks for all the help Sarah. You’ve been amazing,” Gwen smiled with a wave before walking out of the house, leaving Andi behind.

“I… I’ll tell her later.”

“You won’t.”

“Look, just get off my back,” Andi stuffed her hands into her pockets and walked away, leaving Terrible Eye alone in her home.

“Good luck.”


	15. Chapter 15

“Gwen, what are you worried about  _ now _ ,” Andi groaned, typing away on her laptop as she tried to work on her project. Gwen had been changing the lock on their dorm door- something Andi was positive would get them in deep trouble with the RAs if they ever found out.

“I’m making sure no bad guys or spies break into our dorm! You should be happy,” Gwen scoffed, tightening screws as she spoke.

“Gwen, any bad guys that can’t get past a locked door probably aren’t that much of a problem for us anyway,” Andi sighed, feeding Mania a square of chocolate as she spoke. The downtime had been amazing and she almost wished Gwen could be wrong about potential new bad guys to fight.

“You’re right but you never know with these things! The writers created a whole new alien race just for my comic book. Making one bad guy with a weird power set just to capitalize on our weaknesses wouldn’t be a surprise.” Gwen finished tightening the screws and gave the outside doorknob a hard yank as she tested its hold.

“And what exactly are our weaknesses,” Andi asked, feigning curiosity as she hoped she could keep Gwen talking long enough she could finish her report.

“Um… well Mania’s still weak to sonic attacks I guess. And Spider-Man proves all the time that you can punch a symbiote into submission if you’re strong enough-”

“Spider-Man punched  _ Venom _ into submission. She’s not Venom,” Andi corrected, petting Mania’s cheek as the symbiote hissed angrily at Gwen.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway, I’m always limited by what the writers will allow me to do. They took away my powers completely when I was with the West Coast Avengers,” she grumbled. Andi was used to her being peeved about the time she’d spent with the WCA. She made it clear she wasn’t too happy with how she’d been ‘written’ back then. She closed the door behind her and locked it, testing it to ensure it would hold.

“This is our lair! It’s gotta be secure. We can’t just have anybody walking in here, they could be dangerous.” The doorknob jiggled for a moment and the door opened, Himawari happily strolling into the dorm.

“Alright, that only happened for comedic effect,” Gwen hissed, running back to the door to inspect the lock.

“What are you guys up to,” Himawari asked as she eyed Andi who was muffling her laugh behind her hand.

“Gwen’s worried that three beautiful girls sharing a dorm is too good of an opportunity for some bad guy to pass up. She thinks we’re gonna get attacked or something,” Andi said dramatically, running her hands along her body suggestively as she spoke. Himawari laughed, her eyes lingering only a little longer than normal.

“Well, you two don’t have to worry, you’ve got a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent as a roommate,” she said confidently.

“Hey, how many highly trained S.H.I.E.L.D. agents does it take to restrain a senior citizen with a frisbee in an elevator,” Gwen asked curiously.

“Huh?”

“Right, wrong continuity. Never mind!”

“Don’t listen to her Himawari, she’s just mad her new lock doesn’t work,” Andi teased, patting the bed beside her for her roommate to come join her.

“Anyway, what’s going on with you? We barely ever get to talk. You going home for Thanksgiving?” Most of the students would be home for break, but that just meant more fun for whatever students that stayed behind.

“No, uh… don’t really have much family here,” Himawari responded, sitting on Andi’s bunk, kicking off her shoes and hugging her knees to her chest.

“Oh. Well, what ever happened with that date you went on,” Andi offered, trying to get the conversation on anything other than Gwen’s terrible construction skills.

“Yeah, I’m still super jealous by the way,” Gwen reminded her.

“I don’t wanna talk about that,” Himawari sighed, her voice wavering as she spoke. Andi still wasn’t too well versed on the whole ‘feelings’ thing, but she knew her friend wasn’t often one to be sad.

“If she broke your heart we can go beat her up for you. In our Halloween costumes! She’d think she got beat up by superheroes,” Gwen laughed, tightening the last screw of the lock before testing the knob again.

“I  _ really  _ doubt either of you could win that fight, but thanks for the offer,” Himawari sighed, reaching for her phone for a moment before deciding against it.   
“You two are pretty close, right,” Himawari asked Andi softly, not wanting Gwen to hear their conversation,

“Uh, yeah, usually,” Andi replied. She hadn’t minded the whole fake dating lie they’d wrapped themselves in to keep Himawari from suspecting them doing anything heroic, but ever since her meeting with that future version of Gwen, the whole idea of dating Gwen made her skin crawl.

“Would you lie to her? Like, if she’d only met one part of you, but you didn’t want to tell her about your whole life. Would you tell her the truth even if it meant she’d leave you,” Himawari asked, her voice wavering as she spoke.

“Um… If you really like this girl you should probably be as honest as you can with her… did… did you not tell her you’re a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent or something,” Andi asked softly. She hadn’t exactly figured out her coach was a superhero by accident after all.

“Yes! I mean, kinda? Look, you know some things are… classified at S.H.I.E.L.D. I can’t talk to you guys about everything but… I don’t know, I thought I really liked her but…”

“You guys do know I can read your speech bubbles even if you’re whispering, right,” Gwen asked pointedly as she closed and then opened the door, testing to ensure the lock wouldn’t fail a second time.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t be weird about it,” Andi responded, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Listen up, Himawari, lying to your significant other only opens you up for terrible tropes down the road. They don’t know you’re a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and they’ve got no way to defend themselves when Grim Reaper or Ghost or Taskmaster shows up at their door ready to-”

“Gwen!”

“My  _ point _ is, you gotta let them know. You think Spider-Man’s girlfriend doesn’t know he’s Spider-Man? Or Miss Marvel’s friends? Come on, you’ve gotta be open with them as often as you can or else no one’s gonna have a reason to ship you two.” Gwen closed the door behind herself, confident that the lock would hold this time as she moved to sit on Andi’s bunk.

“Ship?”

“Gwen’s not an expert in making sense,” Andi explained, feeling both glad that she at least understood why Gwen spoke the way she did, and sad for Himawari that she’d likely never understand her friend.

“TL;DR: tell the truth now or regret the lie later. Trust me, I can smell a bad trope brewing a mile away,” Gwen explained, stretching her legs out as she kicked her feet.

“That’s why Andi tells me  _ everything _ ,” Gwen said with a smirk. Andi couldn’t meet her eyes, her stomach churning as she remembered what that future version of Gwen had told her.

_ “You wouldn’t want to ruin your only shot at some guaranteed happiness, would you?” _

Andi instead watched as the door fell off its hinges, falling into the room with a loud thud. Himawari stifled a laugh behind her hands as Gwen ran back to the door, desperately trying to fix it.

“Look, this is  _ only _ happening for a tension break, I  _ know _ I assembled the lock right,” Gwen whined, struggling to lift the door back into its frame. Andi smiled, placing a hand on Himawari’s shoulder.

“I’m starving. Let’s help Gwen out with the door and then go get some dinner.

* * *

“And then I turned Deadpool on the bad guys! It was one of my defining moments! I sacrificed myself to get back at the villains. I was practically a cooler superhero than Captain America,” Gwen explained, watching as Andi read through the third issue of Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again, trying not to let the events in the book phase her too much.

“But then… none of this ever actually happened,” Andi asked, doing her best to follow Gwen’s weird comic book rules.

“Yeah it’s… it was an alternate universe. So nothing that happened then happened in  _ this _ universe,” Gwen explained.

“So why do you remember it?”

“Oh, I read comics all the time to try and see if I’m featured in anything!”

“So you weren’t actually there! It was an alternate version of you that did these things, not you!” Andi was asking very specific questions. She needed to know if there was a way to stop the future from happening.

“I guess? I still have a faint impression though. Like, I remember Wade stabbing me. I remember getting possessed by the Poisons during that weird Venom arc too.”

“But it wasn’t you. You’re still here. You’re still Gwen even if all those other Gwens died or went evil or-”

“Yes, Andi, I’m still me. I’m never gonna stop being me, and I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.” Gwen sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Why are you so worried about this?”

“I just… wanted to get to know you better. At least as well as you know me.”

“Aw, that’s sweet. Well, I’m here for answers.”

“… that Gwen that I saw drumming… was that another alternate version of you?”

“Ugh not those answers,” Gwen groaned, sliding down on the park bench until she was barely seated on it.

“Why don’t you want to talk about that. You made it sound like I… like I let something out.”

“You didn’t let anything out, you just opened us up for tropes I didn’t wanna explore.”

“Gwen. Can you talk to me? Please? If we’re in danger-”

“We’re not in danger. Ugh. Okay. We should probably be in The Gutter for this conversation,” Gwen reached her hand out for Andi to take it. For once, Andi didn’t hesitate, letting her friend drag her into her weird nowhere space. She knew the rule- only look where Gwen wanted her to look. Finding out any information might unravel the universe- or so Gwen warned. She never would’ve taken that seriously before her meeting with future Gwen.

_ “Not  _ future  _ Gwen. Not  _ our _ future.” _

“Okay. I figure I’d start at the beginning. This is Gwen Stacy. Her very first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #31.”

“She looks-”

“Just like me. I know. But she’s not. You hear that readers? I’M NOT GWEN STACY!”

“Is she your sister or-”

“She’s Spider-Man’s first girlfriend. His best relationship ever if you don’t count him with Shadowcat.”

“Spider-Man dated Shadowcat?”

“For like a month in the Ultimates universe. Anyway, Gwen didn’t have any powers. And…” Gwen sighed as she flipped to The Amazing Spider-Man #121, the panel showing Spider-Man crying in agony as he held the broken body of his girlfriend. Andi tried to hide her look of shock, in complete disbelief that Spider-Man wasn’t able to save someone so important to him.

“Gwen Stacy’s death is one of the most important moments in Spider-Man’s life. It’s one of the most important moments in all of comic book history- some people say it ended the silver age of comics! It always sucks whenever female characters get fridged, but this was one of the few times where the growth created a genuinely more relatable character.”

“But she comes back though, right? You said we always come back if we die.”

“Gwen doesn’t come back. She gets cloned, she gets resurrected, but she never comes back. Gwen’s death was so formative for Spider-Man she dies over and over again, in comics, books and movies, every time they tell the story. She dies and she stays dead.”

“I don’t get it. What does that have to do with you?”

“That’s where the multiverse comes in. The Spider-verse to be precise.” With a wave of her hand, hundreds of comics scrolled past until Edge of Spider-Verse #2 opened up, a woman wearing a white, black and lilac costume complete with a hood and mask talking to Spider-Man.

“That’s Spider-Woman. Otherwise known as Gwen Stacy.”

“Wait, that’s not the right costume-”

“Not  _ our _ Spider-Woman. This Spider-Woman is from earth-65. In her universe, she was forced to kill her best friend. Do you understand what I’m saying?” Gwen was trying her hardest not to give away Spider-Man’s secret identity, but she needed to make sure Andi was following along.

“Whoever her friend was… that’s our universe’s Spider-Man.” Andi looked to Gwen for confirmation, and Gwen could only nod.

“Home stretch. Now that Gwen was… back- or at least a version of her- comic book artists started playing around with ideas. They wanted Gwen everywhere. They gave her her own comic, they put her in shows and movies again! Spider-Gwen or Ghost-Spider or Spider-Woman or whatever the hell people wanted to call her was back and she was everywhere! And then there was an… experiment.” Gwen turned to Deadpool’s Secret Wars #2, tapping the cover a few times until a familiar scene came up.

“I saw this pic of you while I was trying to get us out of the Gutter the first time. What is this.”

“It’s me. The first instance of me ever in this universe. We call her Gwen-Prime.”

“So you’re…”

“I’m real. I mean, I’m from earth-TRN565. It’s not exactly earth-1218, but it’s as real as can be to  _ me. _ But I also probably wouldn’t be able to exist in this universe without Gwen Stacy…”

“But why were you trying to hide her. If Gwen-65 is from a different universe then you’ll never meet.”

“Andi,  _ you _ were dragged into an entirely different universe to fight weird aliens.”

“Touche.”

“If Gwen Stacy ever sees me… considering all of her dimension hopping, she’ll think I’m like her… That I’m a Stacy. And considering all the multiversal weirdness that she’s been through and my  _ powers _ , I might completely wreck a few realities.”

“So we stay out of her universe. Our universe’s Gwen is dead so you don’t have to worry. We’ll be fine.”

“I hope so, Andi. But ever since you opened the comic, I’ve just been keeping lookout. If we avoid a character arc for too long, it’ll come to us. And pissing the writers off is never a good idea.” Gwen grabbed Andi’s hand and exited the Gutter.

* * *

“What are we doing here,” Andi sighed. She had homework to finish and sleep to catch up on. The last thing she needed was to be dragged out to some silly frat party. Derivative music, cheap beer, loud twenty-something year old coeds dancing off rhythm as they waited for their flavor of the night to whisk them off the dance floor. Do not Andi’s kind of scene.

“We’re taking a  _ break _ , Andi. We get one weekend to ourselves. The writers will probably use this issue to let the audience breathe for a bit before things pick up again,” Gwen explained, the bounce in her step excitedly picking up as the music changed to a popular Dazzler song.

“Come on, even Himawari’s having fun.” Gwen waved at their roommate who was currently working on her fourth beer pong victory.

“Gwen you know I can’t drink,” Andi reminded her, her symbiote currently in the shape of a spiked corset and fishnet tights. Liquor just had no affect on her while Mania was around.

“Don’t worry about that, I made sure to stock up on some Asgardian mead for you. If this stuff can get Thor drunk it’s definitely enough for you,” Gwen teased, offering Andi an unmarked bottle from her shark backpack that was surprisingly cool to the touch.

“I’m gonna be completely honest. I might’ve had a sip already. And this music is  _ really _ fun to dance to,” Gwen shouted excitedly, jumping up onto the nearest table and dancing to loud cheers and whistles from the crowd below. Andi looked to Himawari helplessly, hoping her roommate would make Gwen see reason. Instead, the girl gave her an excited thumbs up as she sank another shot into her opponent’s final cup, earning another round of cheers from the audience at her table. Andi looked back to Gwen, her face was more flushed than usual and it added a warm glow to her cheeks and jaw. She was wearing a purple cap and a black crop top that Andi was certain must’ve come from her own wardrobe. Denim short shorts cut just low enough campus security couldn’t escort her back to her dorm showed off her unbelievable legs for the crowd of cheering onlookers, and a pair of purple knee high socks completed her party look. Andi had to admit…  _ she looked good.  _ And the crowd clearly agreed. Two guys climbed onto the table with Gwen and sandwiched her friend, who only laughed and followed their suggestive dance steps.

Andi bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood. She could feel her eyes glowing red as she choked down the smoke and fire that threatened to pour from her throat. A soft cough cleared her mind before she let the thought run any further.

_ “Jealoussssy issssn’t the mossssst tasssssty emotion,” _ Mania hissed, her corset quivering against her skin.

“Jealous? Me? Pfft, I’m not-”

“Sssspare me,” Mania said lazily, more interested in the taste of the alcohol Andi held in her hand than her host’s inability to face her own feelings. Andi growled before uncorking the bottle. She pressed it to her lips, closed her eyes, and drank down every last drop, not even finding time to enjoy the thick, sweet taste that filled her mouth. The bottle empty she threw it to the ground, shattering it as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and jumped up onto the table, knocking one of the boys to the side and glaring at the other until he got the message and followed his friend off the table.

“You know, just because we came here together doesn’t mean we have to spend the whole night together,” Gwen shouted over the music, a smug smirk on her face as the song finished, replaced by one with a faster beat and dirty lyrics.

“Shut up and dance.” Andi took Gwen’s hand and spun her around, holding her friend’s waist as the smaller woman bent over, her cap barely holding on as she smiled back at her roommate. The crowd cheered and whistled even louder as Gwen danced around Andi, practically daring her to impress them with some dance moves of her own. She rolled her eyes and took a deep breath, Mania all but laughing in her head as she raised her arms to the music.

Andi had never been much of a dancer, but with an alien symbiote raising her sense of balance, reflexes and flexibility to superhuman heights, it was impossible to be bad at it, even as the Asgardian alcohol started working its magic on her. She swung her hips and danced to the thumping rhythm, the entire crowd cheering them both on as she practically used Gwen as a prop for her own dance moves. Her friend was all smiles, wrapping around her body whenever the song called for it just to be lifted by impossibly strong arms. The song reached its climax, loud guitar riffs and crashing drums filled the frat house, hardly louder than the instigating cheers that came from the crowd. Gwen spun in Andi’s arms, playfully looking up into her friend’s purple gaze.

Andi knew it wasn’t the mead, it wasn’t Mania’s influence, it wasn’t even the Hell-Mark. She knew this was what she wanted before her lips had even met Gwen’s. She closed her eyes and leaned forward, hands on Gwen’s waist dragging her closer.

_ “You wouldn’t want to ruin your only shot at some guaranteed happiness, would you?” _

The kiss was electric. It was real. It was everything Andi had been hoping it wouldn’t be. It felt so right she could see stars exploding behind her closed eyes. It felt so right, she nearly melted when Gwen’s hand came up to caress her cheek, roaring cheers and scandalous whistles coming from the crowd below them. It felt so right Mania drunkenly bristled against her skin…

“Wait…”

The earth-shattering crash nearly deafened her as the building rumbled on its foundation. The table they were standing on tipped over, and Mania was still too busy slurping on the booze in her blood to protect her from herself. She hit her head on the floor and the last things she saw were Gwen’s bright blue eyes looking down on her as she jumped over her, shielding her from the blast.

Andi woke up to another crash, jumping back to consciousness in Gwen’s arms.

“Get up we’ve gotta move,” Gwen hissed, gun trained on a target hidden in smoke and rubble.

“Wha’s ha’nen,” Andi asked groggily, unsure if her tongue was heavy from a head injury or the alcohol still in her system.

“No idea. I’m guessing Captain Marvel- maybe Baby Marvel too, are fighting someone strong enough to take a 100 ton punch to the face.” Her theory was proven correct as Captain Marvel crashed at their feet, leaving a crater where she’d hit the ground. The woman shook herself off, wiping blood from her nose as she glanced back at Gwen and Andi.

“Put the gun down and get out of here. We’ve got this,” Carol warned with a nod before throwing herself back into the fight with a glowing fist.

“We can help,” Andi groaned, Mania sluggishly crawling over her skin as she tried to suit up.

“Nuh uh! Nope! We’re leaving,” Gwen hissed, harshly squeezing her friend’s shoulder.

“But-”

“No! We get spotted on campus people are gonna start putting two and two together. Not that  _ I _ care about secret identities,” Gwen reminded her, helping her friend to her feet.

“We get out of here. It’s Captain Marvel. She’s got this,” Gwen grabbed Andi’s hand and pulled her through the rubble of the destroyed building, trying to make their way out. They’d gone less than ten feet before Andi shoved her friend to the ground, the body of a young girl with impossibly long arms and legs sailed through the air right where there heads had been a moment ago.

“It  _ was _ Miss Marvel! That’s a relief I was scared Cap was fighting Mr Fantastic,” Gwen sighed in relief as they continued to crawl towards the exit. Another ten feet before a seismic boom knocked them off their hands and knees, a loud roaring echoing through the entire campus.

“Stand  _ down _ Ross,” Carol shouted, a glowing fist hitting the Red Hulk in the stomach before she followed up with a flying knee to the jaw. The impact sounded like a thunder clap and knocked the red giant back into Miss Marvel, who stretched an arm out to tangle his ankles, tripping him up and knocking him on his ass.

“Last chance, Ross. Give up before this gets ugly,” Captain Marvel warned, adjusting her gauntlets as her fists glowed with golden energy. Red Hulk spat a tooth from his mouth and grinned maliciously, looking from Captain to Miss Marvel.

“You’re goin’ soft, Marvel… Bringing a kid to this fight? It’s almost like you  _ want _ me to hurt someone,” the man got to his feet, rocks and rubble pulverized to dust under him. He grabbed one of the larger pieces of rubble- a chunk of the roof easily measuring in the tons, and tossed it at the women like an oversized baseball. Captain Marvel ducked under it as Miss Marvel shifted her noodle body to the side. Unfortunately neither Gwen nor Andi were in a position to do the same.

“Fuck!” Andi hissed, her sluggish reflexes hardly giving her the time to connect to her link with Mania. She tried to get the symbiote to envelop her, strengthening her arms and back the way she’d done hundreds of times since they’d bonded, but the black goop merely writhed against her skin, unable to take any real shape under the influence of the Asgardian mead. Andi instead moved to protect Gwen, bracing herself for an impact that would kill them both. She closed her eyes and grit her teeth, expecting to be crushed in a moment…

But it never came.

She opened her eyes, familiar blue scales catching the light in the room and shining back their iridescence. MonStar had leaped in front of them and caught the boulder before it’d crushed them. Her arms shook with the strain, legs and thighs set perfectly under her body to deal with the enormous weight of the projectile. With a look back at Andi and Gwen, she motioned with her tail towards the exit, now only a dozen feet away.

“Looks like you dropped something,” MonStar shouted, tossing the rock back with as much force as she could muster, hitting Red Hulk square in the shoulder and knocking him to his knees.

“What are  _ you _ doing here,” Captain Marvel growled, her eyes lighting up with recognition behind her mask.

“Aw, don’t be like that, Captain. I even saved the civilians for you,” MonStar condescended, grabbing Gwen and Andi by their tops and all but throwing them out of the frat house.

“Now we gonna put him down before he gets back up or did you two need the exercise or something,” MonStar shouted, falling into place between the two heroes.

Andi had to pull Gwen away from the scene by her wrist, practically dragging her roommate away from the building.

“Gwen let’s  _ go _ ,” Andi hissed, tempted to use Mania to help drag her friend away.

“How did she get here so fast? The Marvels make sense- they were already fighting Rulk, but MonStar? Cap didn’t even know she was around.” Gwen mumbled, looking back over her shoulder as green flames collided with a wall of red fire, the fight heating up in more ways than one.

“We can talk about that later,” Andi shouted.

“Where’s Himawari!” Gwen dug her heels into the dirt, refusing to go any further.

“She was closer to the exit before the fight! She probably-”

“Called her girlfriend for help.” Gwen finally let Andi drag her away, glaring back at the frat house as the roof collapsed in a thunderclap of rubble.

“Guys, I said I’m sorry,” Himawari pleaded, hugging her knees close to her chest as she bit back tears. She looked so small and helpless, as if she weren’t a highly trained S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with the skill to kill an average pair of angry roommates.

“We looked everywhere for  _ hours _ ,” Andi hissed, arms crossed over her chest. She wasn’t yet convinced on Gwen’s crazy theory, but she did at least believe her roommate should’ve sent them a text letting them know she was okay  _ before _ the evacuation had ended.

“I told you, I was trying to contact S.H.I.E.L.D. to come assist. It’s my  _ job _ , Andi,” her voice cracked as she spoke, desperate for her friends to understand the unique position she’d been in. Andi was too frustrated to care.

“We almost  _ died _ , Himawari! I blacked out! Gwen had to save me. As much as you hate heroes, we had to be saved by one.” Andi rolled her eyes, her friend’s tear-filled gaze difficult to hold.

“Andi, I’m so sorry. I… I just didn’t know what to do! Kowakatta! My training just kicked in and I… I didn’t think. Gwen! Please!” Himawari looked to Gwen, hoping her blue gaze would be more forgiving than Andi’s violet.

“I’m not speaking to you,” Gwen looked away, feeling Andi’s grip on her shoulder loosen just a bit.

“Guys… g-gomen- I’m sorry! I messed up. I was a bad friend- I could’ve done more- I  _ should’ve _ done more! Please… please forgive me.” Andi watched as her fists clenched, desperately trying to put on a brave face in front of her friends.

“Himawari… Tell us the truth. The second we were in danger that dragon girl came out and saved us.” Andi watched the color drain from her friend’s face. Andi had hoped Gwen would’ve been wrong about her hunch- that Himawari had nothing to do with MonStar. But it was obvious that her friend had been hiding  _ something _ .

“Ano… watashi wa… uhm,” Himawari stumbled over her words, unsure of where to start. Andi’s eyes were harsh on her as she glared down at her.

“Just tell the truth! You’re dating her! You’re dating MonStar aren’t you,” Gwen shouted, jabbing an accusatory finger into Himawari’s chest. The smaller girl floundered for a moment, mouth opening and closing as she tried to form words, looking from one roommate to the next.

“I… swear I was going to tell you guys,” Himawari squeaked.

“I  _ knew _ it,” Gwen said excitedly.

“Look you can’t tell anyone,” Himawari said urgently, tugging at Gwen’s jacket as she tried to breathe her urgency into her.

“It’s super dangerous for us to be together and we’re technically coworkers- we could get reassigned! I could get fired,” Himawari hissed. Gwen laughed playfully, nudging Andi with an elbow.

“I told you! They’re dating! Ah man I can’t believe I was right again!” Gwen laughed excitedly while Himawari desperately tried to get her to settle down.

Andi stared at the two of them quietly as she moved to sit on her bunk. This had seemed almost too easy… too convenient…

Something was off.


End file.
